Is it really Reigns' fault he's in this position? Photo Credit: WWE.com

Roman Reigns is in a tough spot right now, as he's veritably the rope in a tug of war between Vince McMahon's stubborn vision for "his" WWE and the fans who have revolted against him as the choice to headline WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar this year. Many critics of Reigns' push accuse McMahon of trying to ram him down the fans' throats despite him not being ready for that kind of main event exposure. Based on what he's shown so far since returning from an injury that kept him sidelined from September until December, the evidence supports his lack of readiness, but how much of it is Reigns' fault?

Usually, if a wrestler falters, a share of the blame can go to him/her even if terrible creative decisions factor in heavily. A good wrestler/performer can overcome bad booking. Dean Ambrose, for example, has been able to overcome his character being thrown through the stupid machine and having every single instance of bullshit deus ex machina tossed at him and remain as over as someone in his position can be. However, not everyone can overcome terrible booking at every point in their careers. Wrestlers sometimes have to evolve or get seasoned in order to transform bad direction.

Reigns, as most people can admit or agree, has gotten some godawful direction. All reports indicate that McMahon has taken over guiding the Reigns character to WrestleMania, even so far as personally scripting his promos. That terrible retelling of "Jack and the Beanstalk" that Reigns recited on RAW a few weeks back came right from the addled brain of the Chairman himself. Reigns has proven that he's not ready to carry the same mantel that a John Cena has been able to with painful clarity. But does that mean Reigns is clearly not ready to headline WrestleMania?

Of course, the elephant in the room is that Reigns at Mania will have to be the guy calling spots and direction for Brock Lesnar, who has famously followed where he was led since returning to WWE. Reigns could pull off a miracle in the ring, but it would be highly unlikely. However, match quality in a singular instance rarely determines quality of an arc, and i the ascension is memorable and well-crafted, then one might be able to forgive an underwhelming blowoff.

Which brings up the question whether any iteration of the current Reigns character could have headed into Mania with the support of a vast majority of fans (not just the minority tha weakly reacts to him). Would Reigns have been doomed to walk this path of ignominious fate all along? At this time last year, the world would have been relieved to have seen Reigns across the ring from Randy Orton at WrestleMania XXX, and he's barely changed since then. But of course, within that conceit is the disconnect located.

Reigns has changed the least of his three Shield brethren, which is why throwing him into the John Cena role was such a big mistake. His role in promos was to stand menacingly in the background and deliver a resounding catchphrase. He was never eased into that different role, nor did he show at any time during his previous run that he could. Remember, Cena came out of the gates, guns blazing, mouthing off at Kurt Angle when he debuted. Reigns barely said two words before Seth Rollins thwacked him with a steel chair to dissolve the best stable in WWE's history.

The question now becomes whether what Reigns' strengths were could have translated into a viable main event character, which ventures too much into the realm of fantasy booking with too many variables and too much faith in conducting a study in mass crowd psychology to say definitively whether it would have worked. But I would venture a guess that it would have been better to push Reigns as a strong, silent type whose economy of words kept him as a veritable wild card. Or maybe he could have been the one to turn heel. Or who knows, maybe the Shield never had to break up, and Reigns could have had Ambrose and to a lesser extent Rollins doing the heavy lifting for him on mic spots.

But as it stands right now, Reigns has become a post turtle, a figure who is way out of his league in his current position through barely any fault of his own. He's being used as a proxy in McMahon's war against his own fanbase, which in the end might end up erasing yet another viable person of color from true superstardom in WWE. The problem isn't that Reigns isn't ready; it's no one knows if he could be ready in any role that was feasibly available to him, and that's a cardinal sin by any booker or promoter.

A healthy dose of talk about Reigns' Rumble win vis a vis the Super Bowl is on Cheap Heat this week Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Cheap Heat
Episode: Feb. 3, 2015
Run Time: 1:02:30
Guest: None

Summary: Your hosts David Shoemaker and Peter Rosenberg are back in studio this week, recording again on a Tuesday morning. They talk about the special live Smackdown and a little bit about Triple H’s appearance on Steve Austin’s podcast before breaking down the Groundhog Day RAW, including focus on Cody Rhodes and the John Cena/Rusev story as well as pondering a Bray Wyatt/Bo Dallas pairing. Listener email leads to discussion of WrestleMania plans, a Dolph Ziggler/Bayley pairing and a contrasting of Roman Reigns winning the Royal Rumble vs. Seattle’s Super Bowl endgame play calling.

Quote of the week: Shoemaker on the Reigns/Daniel Bryan setup: “At a bare minimum you can say, we can all agree that things look a lot sunnier after last night, even if all it is is a head fake to have (Brock) Lesnar and Reigns at WrestleMania.”

Why you should listen: I’ve long complained about the Cheap Heat episodes that amount to little more than an hourlong RAW recap released Thursday or Friday. If you want to hear the same takes in a much more fresh fashion, you’ll be happy with the new schedule. Both guys have an ability to understand the complaints they hear fans express while also understanding why it’s impossible to always cater to those concerns. And in this episode, they reveal an understanding of and appreciation for the good work of Rhodes and Rusev, as well as Cesaro and Tyson Kidd.

Why you should skip it: The biggest reason to pass is the icky feeling that comes from listening to Rosenberg lust after Stephanie McMahon in a manner going far beyond complimenting someone who knows how to maintain and improve her appearance. Don’t come in hopes of hearing any substantive analysis of the Steve Austin/Triple H podcast — it’s not clear either host listened to the full interview — and there is a certain segment of fan who will hear this episode and think it’s little more than he WWE corporate line about how everything was fixed with one solid RAW eight weeks before WrestleMania.

Final thoughts: Episodes like this belong on Tuesday. There’s a reason you don’t get fresh NFL “week in review” columns posting before Wednesday’s afternoon drive. That said, I’m leaning toward suggesting it was still a little light on the kind of perspective we should expect from professionals. YouTube is littered with nobodies explaining what they loved and hated on any given WWE show, a Grantland product needs to offer something unique befitting the experience of the content creator. Shoemaker almost never fails to deliver in his written work, but the podcast, either as a medium or on account of his partner, doesn’t always afford him the opportunity to convey those talents.

Horb has your RUNDOWN of Triple H on the Austin show Photo Credit: WWE.com

HORB FLERBMINBER here, back giving you the SCOOPS that you crave, nay, that you NEED IN ORDER TO KEEP ALIVE. If you don't get my news updates and rumors, you will literally die. DIE. They are more vital to you than insulin is to a diabetic. You need them more than sharks need constant movement. Hell, YOU NEED THEM MORE THAN NEWT GINGRICH THINKS THE UNITED STATES NEEDS PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AGAINST TERRORISM AT THE SUPER BOWL THANKS TO A MOVIE THAT CAME OUT IN 1977. If you don't read my scoops, how will you know which NXT superstar got out of a prostitution solicitation charge by blowing the police officer? YOU WON'T.

Of course, I can't do this all alone. I need the help of readers and tipsters like YOU who thanklessly send along scoops while not expecting or getting the thanks and credit you think you deserve. HORB NEEDS ALL THE CREDIT, YOU HEAR? Surely, you will understand. That's why you will send me your tips at ProWrestlingSKOOPZ@gmail.com. For the FULL HORB XXX-PERIENCE, you need to follow me on Twitter too. Boot up your Twitter Machine and follow @HorbFlerbminber for UP TO THE INSTANT news nuggets.

If you need back issues of my newsletter, then be sure to sign up for my EXCLUSIVE, STATE OF THE ART FTP SITE where you can get .pdf files of SKOOPZ to your computer! However, I recommend that you have Windows 8 or better, or else the files will be hard to load thanks to the ultra-high definition, 40 megapixel pictures that I have embedded in the files. Also, good luck if you're on DSL or anything slower. You'll be waiting for a couple of years to get some of the more recent letters.

I also regret to inform that I have terminated "I Tap Boys'" sponsorship deal because the Better Business Bureau has deemed it to be tasteless and lewd. However, I have replaced that ad content with a new sponsor, TapouT 100% Lycra penis cozies. Does your penis get cold while doing MMA training? Then try TapouT's special cozies, which cover the whole shaft and has an elastic pouch that can cover the scrotum and testes as well. They're waterproof as well, so if you're afraid of anyone sneaking a peek at your junk in the shower, you'll remain protected. The cozies come in four sizes: micropenis, average, porn star, and Milton Berle.

Also, remember to forget.

- Triple H appeared on a special live Steve Austin podcast Monday night after RAW. Trips' was diplomatic and gave even-handed responses, at least compared to the realism his father-in-law Vince McMahon conveyed during his interview in December. All this proves is that Triple H is STILL playing politics and should be ashamed of himself.

- When asked about CM Punk, Triple H said that he harbored no ill-will towards the former WWE superstar and said that a comeback should never be ruled out. However, he touched the tip of his nose while talking about it, which means he was lying and really was offering Punk out for a fair fight down in Temecula.

- Triple H said that ex-fiancee and first ever woman WWE Intercontinental Champion Chyna deserves to be in the WWE Hall of Fame, but more than likely won't make it because of her forays into pornography. The Hall cannot be sullied by the likes of a porn star. Who could buy her being in the same Hall of Fame as greats like Mike Tyson, Steve Austin, Jimmy Snuka, and Donald Trump?

- The denial of Chyna from the Hall of Fame has also caused the Chris Benoit fanboys and truthers to take up her cause beside the disgraced perpetrator of a double murder-suicide. So thanks for that, Trips.

- In NXT news, unmasking Kalisto in order to give him a gay hairstylist gimmick is currently being mulled over, because Rico Constantino's main roster gimmick was such a smashing success.

- WWE's Fast Lane will feature Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns with Reigns' spot in the WrestleMania main event on the line. The match's finish is still up in the air at this point, as Triple H and McMahon have scheduled a fencing match with their penises on February 10 on the top floor of Titan Towers to determine who wins.

- AJ Styles vs. ACH has been signed for the Ring of Honor Anniversary Show on March 1. I asked Jim Ross' opinion on the match and immediately regretted it after he started speaking.

- In order to keep up with the state of things in UFC, WWE has reportedly suspended the Wellness Program.

- The Rock was in a Super Bowl commercial. Reports say he played the dead kid from the Nationwide ad.

- Speaking of the Super Bowl, it drew over 120 million viewers, making it the most watched wrestling event ever.

- What, the NFL is a work. You know it to be true.

- The Committeefearsthat themoney is spent, TennesseeStateBoxingandMMAclosedregulation. Whileprevention isimportantbecause itcancontinue to playwithoutevenunauthorizedactions are notallowed. There arerumorsClosureCommissionin July, andJune 30, 2016tocome up witha decision has beenpostponed forcommissioningin the first halfof 2013, the government spent over$ 400last year.

- Reports from Grantland Studios are saying Peter Rosenberg's lustful descriptions of Stephanie McMahon on this week's Cheap Heat were inspired because he had watched Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back a record 16 times over the weekend.

- New Japan Pro Wrestling has offered a free month of its over-the-top streaming service, New Japan World, and if you aren't taking advantage of this, you are a loathsome piece of shit.

- Nigel McGuinness' Kickstarter for his LA Fights concept fell short before the goal date. Sources say he mumbled to himself "I should've done an all male version of GLOW instead of an all white-dude version of Lucha Underground, dammit."

- Daniel Bryan and John Cena had a bet on the Super Bowl between the two teams that came from their respective places of birth, and surprisingly, it didn't involve Bella-swapping.

- TNA is headed back to the Impact Zone, proving once and for all that you can go home again, but why the fuck should you?

- Last week's poll results were eaten by CHUDs. This week:

Bubba, you wanna listen to The Real on the Ross Report this week and not be jabroni like Virgil Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: The Ross Report
Episode: 51 (Feb. 4, 2015)
Run Time: 1:40:44
Guest: Jian Magen (30:15); The Iron Sheik (36:12)

Summary: Jian Magen is a co-producer of an upcoming documentary titled The Sheik, a film about the professional wrestling career of Khosrow Vaziri, known the world over as the Iron Sheik. Jim Ross is a longtime friend of the Sheik, whom he calls Khosrow through most of the interview as they discuss how he left Iran and ended up in a legendary Verne Gagne training class in Minnesota, some of the business’ great shooters, a review of his territory work in places like Tulsa, Charlotte and Portland and how he became addicted to and eventually broke free from drugs and alcohol. Magen is brought in and out of the interview, discussing the film itself, promotional work and especially the interview session with The Rock. Sheik also talks about Brock Lesnar, a locker room fight with he, Bruno Sammartino and some Pittsburgh Steelers and his thoughts on CM Punk going to UFC.

Quote of the week:“I have a lot of respect for the new generation in the WWE, they learn from Iron Sheik mistake and ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan mistake, the all new generation they are good shape, they are killing, I watch the match every Monday RAW and every Friday and every now wrestling every Thursday.”

Why you should listen: The Iron Sheik is unique — no doubt about it. The interview does give something of a window into the man most know as a caricature and does well its main job of generating interest in the documentary. Vaziri is quite open about his heavy drug use and what it cost him over the years. Magen is a crucial voice for demonstrating what the Iron Sheik character and Vaziri’s background meant to Iranian-American children of a certain age, and his information about the way the film came together over several years is enlightening.

Why you should skip it: The Sheik’s famously heavy accent and scattershot speaking style can make for a difficult listen in many formats, but the telephone call aspect of a podcast is an added degree of difficulty (and don’t both trying to listen at an accelerated speed if you want to actually understand any of his remarks). Magen’s chances to talk about the film are too brief. While it’s helpful to have him present as something of a translator (Ross also plays this part a time or two, paraphrasing for clarity some of Vaziri’s responses), this episode lacks for Ross not allowing more time to interview Magen directly.

Final thoughts: I’m pretty mixed on this one. The usual glory days bluster comes from the guest here, not the host (Sheik thinks, in his prime, he could have handled Lesnar in a shoot fight despite giving up 100 pounds). The movie sounds like an interesting project. But the broken English and the lack of any semblance of order to the proceedings make it a struggle to get through. It’s by no means a worthless episode, just difficult.

Would WWE be served by having a National Signing Day-like event? Photo via reference-journald.rhcloud.com

It's Twitter Request Line time, everyone! I take to Twitter to get questions about issues in wrestling, past and present, and answer them on here because 140 characters can't restrain me, fool! If you don't know already, follow me @tholzerman, and wait for the call on Wednesday to ask your questions. Hash-tag your questions #TweetBag, and look for the bag to drop Thursday afternoon (most of the time). Without further ado, here are your questions and my answers!

@tholzerman Should the WWE have a "signing day"?
— Ryan Ritter (@HLS_NDtex) February 4, 2015

No, because it would blunt the unpredictability of seeing a signing from the indies/international scene just by confining it to one day a year. If WWE had a bigger domestic competitor or more, like in an alternate Universe where WCW survived and maybe New Japan Pro Wrestling crept its way onto the Pacific coast, a yearly culling of the indies/colleges might work. But in the monopolistic environment North American wrestling has now, it would be boring and ultimately self-serving. Plus, the way things are situated right now keeps each individual signing relatively important.

@tholzerman What is updog?
— bd (@IHatebd) February 4, 2015

The true nature of updog is one scientists and philosophers alike have questioned for decades now. What truly comprises updog? How is it formed? And most importantly, what is truly up with you, dog?

@tholzerman There is no Elimination Chamber show this year. Do you miss it? If there was, what's your best guess for its booking? #TweetBag
— Star of Savage (@StarOfSavage) February 4, 2015

The moment I heard it was going away, I started missing it. In a way, it has become WWE's signature gimmick match, and the surest bet for some kind of quality. The last two years have been phenomenal at least. Last year's match was overshadowed by the brilliant Shield/Wyatt Family trios match that went on before it, but the way each wrestler explored the studio space, especially old man Christian and Cesaro, made it truly memorable.

As for a hypothetical this year, I'll work off the assumption that Brock Lesnar won't be making it to the show. Building off the Royal Rumble, Roman Reigns would be defending his number one contendership against various assailants. Rusev would be the first to join him, since he ostensibly was the one hurt by The Rock's presence the worst. The next two in would be Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan, both of whom never received rematches after losing their title runs. Hell, Orton wasn't even pinned or submitted in his match. I almost put Kane and Big Show in as Authority picks, but fuck it, those two belong nowhere near a shot to win anything at Mania. Entrant five would be Bray Wyatt, being rewarded for his ironman run in the Rumble, and number six is Seth Rollins as the Authority's ringer.

@tholzerman grade this puppy on a cuteness scale of your choosing pic.twitter.com/sMaKo9DJMx
— Jesse Robert Powell (@Jessico09) February 4, 2015

On a scale from zero-to-ten, zero being the World's Ugliest Dog and ten being a whole herd of corgi puppies, that dog rates a solid nine, maybe a 9.5. Good find.

@tholzerman combining topics: if you had to choose, which one wrestler and one pokemon would you eat
— Andrew Southern (@apsouthern) February 4, 2015

If I had to eat a wrestler, and let me say that I don't endorse cannibalism at all unless you're in the direst of straits, but if I had to eat a wrestler, it would be Big E. He's got huge muscles, which is where the good meat comes from, but he's also not exactly lean. He's got some fat on him, and he's gotta be well-marbled after all the grappling and the hand-to-hand combat on the football field and especially the years of getting SURPRISE HUGS from Bayley. As for the Pokemon, I wouldn't stray too far away from traditional meats or vegetation (although very few Grass-types come in traditionally edible form), so no exotic Girafarig dinners or feasting on a slightly humanoid creature like Snorlax. Of the livestock Pokemon, Grumpig is the one to eat. It's a pig, so you know it's flavorful from the rooter to the tooter, and because of its Psychic typing, it probably classifies as brain food. If I can eat bacon and country ribs and pulled pork that makes me smart, I gotta go with that, right?

@tholzerman Is one of the biggest missed opportunities of recent memory a Bryan\Shield vs Evolution\Kane War Games? #Tweetbag
— Okori Wadsworth (@OkoriWadsworth) February 4, 2015

No, because I'm still not convinced WWE should have ever considered War Games or should even go with the gimmick. It's a WCW conceit that would spread out the action too thinly and probably doesn't play well in modern WWE.

@tholzerman Who do I blame all the snow we've been getting on: Glacier or the Lithuanian Snow Troll? #tweetbag
— Mike Pankowski (@mikepankowski) February 4, 2015

Glacier seems pretty chill in retirement. Heh, did you see what I did there? No, but in all seriousness, I don't really see his blood running that cold anymore. The Lithuanian Snow Troll in his normal state is pretty affable, but I doubt he'll be returning to that demeanor after The Flood has made him the world's most family-friendly adaptation of Reek from A Song of Ice and Fire ever. I would peg him as an ersatz weather machine used by his current captor, Kevin Condron, levying massive snowfall on Chikara's home area. However, because the Snow Troll is currently in the worst state of mind possible, he miscalculated the trajectory and hit every area hard except for Chikara's home base, Philadelphia.

@tholzerman What match at #NPWD are you the most hype for? #TweetBag
— Jeff S (@DexDynamo) February 4, 2015

While the Jenny Rose/Kimber Lee matchup intrigues me, I'm still all aboard for "Smooth Sailing" Ashley Remington taking on his toughest challenge to date, Drew Gulak. While Gulak is not necessarily known for his personality, his forays with the Gentlemen's Club suggest that he can shed some of his arch-serious exterior and have some fun with the Chikaraverse's resident yachtsman. Additionally, while Remington isn't exactly renowned for his down and dirty mat skills, he's shown that he can hold his own, whether as Remington against wrestlers like Juan Francisco de Coronado or as his alter ego Dalton Castle. I expect this match to be a standout and for Gulak to keep his streak of strong NPWD performances alive.

The Triple H podcast is replayed on this week's Unleashed Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Steve Austin Show
Episode: 191 (Feb. 3, 2015)
Run Time: 1:32:56
Guest: None

Summary: It’s important to note this episode was recorded before the Feb. 2 WWE Network interview with Triple H. Austin recorded the show open speaking (somewhat audibly) into his iPhone while taking a last drive around the Broken Skull Ranch right before watching the Super Bowl. The highlight of this was him yelling at the ranch’s resident alligator for refusing to be a guest on the show. The main segment, recorded even earlier, is Austin reading listener emails. Topics discussed include deer meat, podcast technology, his favorite holidays, being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, times he mixed up the appearance of his knee braces, where he learned the Texas Cloverleaf and his favorite George Strait songs.

Quote of the week: On his Hall of Fame induction: “When you’re in the business and you’re doing good things, you’re drawing big houses, and all that stuff, and you’re entertaining millions of people and they’re living vicariously through your actions, you’re like so close to the forest, you’re in the forest, you can’t even see the trees. You don’t really realize what you’re doing at the largest level, or in the present, because you kind of turn into what I call zombie mode. When you’re going through life and you’re going through everything that you’re doing, and you’re blinking your eyes and you’re walking and you’re paying bills and you’re getting rental cars, you’re jumping on airplanes, you’re in different gyms and hotels and tanning beds and bars and lounges, it’s just everything runs together, one thing, and then you go home. And for me, you know, when I was home, hell I was damn near still gone. You look at all that stuff and finally you’re able to see what you accomplished, what you actually meant to people. So it was a very special occasion.”

Why you should listen: To hear Austin get choked up describing the Hall of Fame induction experience. And I guess for the alligator yelling. That’s not to sell short the worthy part of the show — it was as real and raw as I’ve heard Austin in nearly 200 episodes — it’s just the only silver living.

Why you should skip it: The weak audio quality in the too-long introduction set a bad precedent. Then Austin goes on to barely talk about wrestling in a 90-minute show. The allusions to the Triple H interview, recorded before that session but released after it aired, but yet still aired before that interview went public in this venue, is discombobulating to say the least.

Final thoughts: You can watch Austin chat up Triple H on the WWE Network and be up to speed for the week. I don’t know how many more weeks he’ll have like this, but it’s something of a disservice to listeners to have them jumping all over mentally trying to account for which segment was recorded when, especially when what Austin sees in person so greatly affects the way he relates to a specific incident. This isn’t anywhere near his worst episode, it just adds very little in a week where his biggest contribution was outside the iTunes feed.

---

Show: Steve Austin Show Unleashed!
Episode: 192 (Feb. 5, 2015)
Run Time: 1:36:11
Guest: Triple H (17:30)

Summary: It’s another free month for the WWE Network and another live podcast with one of the company’s biggest names. Austin sat down with COO Triple H after the Feb. 2 RAW, and in case you didn’t watch the video feed, they talked about Roman Reigns, storytelling in the Reality Era, Triple H’s penchant for backstage work, NXT and the WWE Performance Center, the WWE Hall of Fame, the New World Order, D-Generation X, and CM Punk. Austin runs Triple H through a series of names for quick reactions before they talk about Brock Lesnar’s future with WWE and some of the struggles of the current RAW format. This version includes some of Austin’s comments at the front and back end of the main interview; he recorded those remarks on Feb. 4.

Quote of the week:“The jazz of me going down to Florida with these kids at NXT and that system and seeing the light bulb go off for a kid, and I’m creating something with them, and helping them to develop. My hat’s off to Vince for letting me have that and saying to sink or swim or fail or succeed on my own without having to have that input and having to have that fallback to go to him and say, ‘What should I do here?’ has been so great to me. … There’s a lot of times I don’t go and ask for things with him just because for me, ego-wise, I want to try to prove myself with that and prove that I can kind of do this and I don’t need that maybe.”

Why you should listen: I’m going to crib here from my write-up of the Vince McMahon appearance from November; if you haven’t seen the video version of the interview, it’s definitely worth hearing the words from Triple H’s mouth instead of filtered through Twitter or blog posts. I can’t imagine anyone who listens to wrestling podcasts wanting to skip this one altogether.

Why you should skip it: If you watched the video version, there’s not much to be gained here. (OK, Austin’s introductory monologue does shed some light on his thoughts from watching that night’s Raw as it happened, which sort of affected the outset of his interview. But there’s no essential information that deepens understanding of the main interview.) Further, if you routinely avoid the Unleashed episodes on account of the vulgarity, I highly recommend just sticking with the video, because the obscenities seem especially superfluous in this context.

Final thoughts: This interview was far less analyzed than the Austin-McMahon chat for a variety of reasons. I’m glad Austin released it in his podcast feed the same week instead of waiting until next Tuesday, but even so I’m not certain I can add much that hasn’t been said. I will say my biggest takeaway is how much I want someone skilled to explore the McMahon-Triple H professional relationship, and not just as it relates to RAW and NXT. Both guys are fascinating characters (McMahon in particular is a deeply intriguing personality) and the way they jockey for corporate position will continue to be incredibly compelling.

This wasn't a go-home show, this was a get-the-hell-out-of-here show.

That's how good it was.

It's the sort of hour you can show to people who've quit watching wrestling or on hiatus and suck them back in at full force. It's the sort of hour for long-time fans of Full Sail that completely justifies the borderline blind faith of the more entrenched loyalists, culminating in a final half hour that featured consecutively a three-segment main event MOTY candidate followed by possibly the best video package since last February when the Shield (R.I.P.) and the Wyatt Family (also R.I.P.) were about to cause pre-match This Is Awesome chants up in Minneapolis.

While it's tough to not want to lead off with the Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens show ender, we'll go back to the semifinal match between Hideo Itami and Finn Bálor. News flash: these guys are quite good at the pro graps. The crowd was invested in the second semifinal from theme music on, firing off their own pre-match This Is Awesome chant and later moving on to We're Not Worthy and Marking Out ones as well. Call them too clever for their own good sometimes, but it wasn't like they were wrong here. The earlier semifinal was fait accompli, with Bull Dempsey obviously helping do in Baron Corbin and sending those two rivals to a probable blowoff no DQ match next week while advancing Adrian Neville to the #1 contendership match at Takeover: Rival on February 11 in the process. This was another beast entirely.

The chain wrestling sequence to properly kick off the match, with counter's counters getting countered and rereversals getting rerereversed was so machine-gun fire you had to go back and replay it a couple times slowed down just to see the intricacies on display, and that was merely the appetizer of a five-course, five-star dinner. And then they did it again. When the nearfalls began in the second part of the match, the crowd hung on the lot of them; they clapped to rally Bálor when Itami had him down and vice versa. Irish got in a few rollups and a sweet gamengiri to an Itami stuck on the top rope. But we weren't done there. Bálor unleashed some vicious chops, Itami caught him with a superlative leg lariat and eventually his hangman's tornado DDT ^ flying lariat combo. Still weren't done. In order each man dodged a Go To Sleep and a reverse Bloody Sunday, then a huge Crocopian kick from Itami staggering Bálor before the Irishman Pele kicked his friend down and went down himself.

When's the last time you heard a crowd cheer both sides of a forearm tradeoff? It happened here. It looked like the former KENTA was going to pull it out with his strike combo that had as its highlight a vicious uraken that seemed to slam into Bálor's head like a wrecking ball into a condemned building and the hesitation basement dropkick to boot. But Finn survived long enough to draw the (of course properly called by the announcers, even A-Ry) Sling Blade and then just about murked him with this vicious shotgun dropkick that sent the former star of NOAH head-first into the second turnbuckle with authority; the Coup de Grâce followed and somehow wanted a viewer who'd seen them kick out the jams for 20 minutes put another 20 on the board. While Itami cursed his loss, he did manage to shake hands with his erstwhile friend, and then Neville came from the announce table and shook hands with Finn on the ramp. Bálor/Neville and Zayn/Owens as the psuedo semifinals leading to any possible combination therein into another match for the Big X? If you aren't about that, there's a vampire novel with your name on it.

Speaking of the title match coming up, things went from "that match and the Europeans shaking hands should've ended the show" to "awww yisss" the same way Aubrey goes from nothing to the century mark. Every round of the NFC playoffs having crazy calls, non-calls, and miraculous babyface comebacks culminating in an inexplicable decision that ended a Super Bowl proves that most of life is fake; the Zayn/Owens package was as real as it gets.

Zayn talked about sneaking peeks through the curtain to catch Owens' debut at the last NXT live two-hour spectacuganza, followed by Kevin saying he was as psyched for his own debut as he was to see Sami and Adrian headline Revolution. Was he being honest when he said he was and still is happy for Sami afterwards? Well, he did end his short segment earlier in the show with a Robertsian "Trust me". But then--the betrayal. Zayn admitting he should've seen the betrayal coming. Owens saying after a decade and a half, he wasn't waiting in line anymore. And then the pictures of them going around the world together as teenagers and young adults apron powerbombing NXT viewers in the feelings (and maybe even tear ducts).

Owens didn't need to actually say when Zayn was on his world tour, he was there as well but they called the latter first; the picture of them as fresh-faced adorables in front of the Colosseum would've done that on its own. Owens said that stole them arriving together, and got him to the point where he doubted if it/WWE bringing him into the fold was ever going to happen for him. Again, you want to build an awesome heel, you give him a completely justifiable world view but go too far in pursuing it, especially against somebody as likable as the champion. And the train kept a-rollin': in consecutive soundbites Zayn saying getting married and having kids changed Owens and Owens then saying that all Zayn had to worry about was himself. In the immortal word of the Internet: bruh.

You don't have to know these guys better than family to get this; hell, you don't even have to be a wrestling fan. All you have to do is be an adult. Think back to who was at your birthday party a decade ago, and think who's going to be at the next one. And again, Owens isn't wrong for getting a family and settling down, the same way Zayn being (presumably) single isn't wrong--it's just a clash of lifestyle options used to further mirror the split leading to the title match. How many kids watched this for the first time and had it melt their brains? Has any WWE programming this century even brought up the two inevitable paths of adulthood and used them not only in a deft storytelling manner but as equal but separate modus operandi? By the end where FKA El Generico was revowing to kick nee Steen's ass and Owens swore he was going to walk away with the belt, the 11 and the main event couldn't've possibly arrived fast enough for any wrestling fan.

The rest of the show even built up the women's division and that title match forthcoming, with Carmella heeling it up but wrestling cleanly in a submission win over Emma (poor, poor Emma, who last year was tearing the house down with Paige over the belt at Arrival and now seems to be a dancing Australian Zack Ryder so far as the ladder is concerned) and Bayley managing to eke out a win over Becky Lynch when a Very Concerned Sasha Banks helped a reeling Lynch back into the ring -- you know, help, like when the ground helped Dez Bryant make that catch last month -- and right into the waiting arms of the belly-to-Bayley. Team BAE shoved each other, Charlotte came out with her belt, and everybody glared at each other. Add that to Tyler Breeze jumping Itami post-match backstage screaming he could've beaten Bálor, and lawadamercy, the first NXT live show looks to pick up the heavy torch that the four they put on in 2014 and cast more light, if that's possible.

It, tragically, is still not February 11th yet.

Or now.

Or now, for that matter.

...stupid time. MOVE FASTER!

Uh-oh, was Reigns a bad friend again this week? Photo Credit: WWE.com

Worst Friend – Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns did nothing to ingratiate himself with me this week. He was supposed to start things off being interviewed on Miz TV with Daniel Bryan, but he immediately ruined things by first rudely having his entrance music cut off the Miz while he was still doing the introduction, and then promptly knocking the Miz down as soon as he entered the ring. What a jerk! There's only one person who deserves to get revenge on Miz right now and that's Mizdow, who spent the episode mildly minding his own business and being as adorable as usual. After dispatching his host, Reigns proceeded to be an ass to Daniel Bryan as well, claiming that he went through 29 other guys to get his spot at WrestleMania. Um, Mr. Reigns, I do not recall you starting at number one during the Rumble match, so you can quiet down with that nonsense.

He didn't even have the courtesy to look concerned when Bryan was put into a handicap match against Seth Rollins and his security team. Reigns' match against the Miz later in the show was fine and something that I probably would have enjoyed under different circumstances. I'm just trying to remember when Roman Reigns was cool and he LOOKED like he was cool, and didn't act like a douchebag who LOOKS like he's a douchebag. Seriously, what is that look that's always on his face now? It's like a horrible mixture of smugness and petulance, I swear. Ugh.

Friendship Break-Up With Most Potential – Goldust and Stardust
While I agree with those who think that the Dust Bros. dust-up should have happened long before now, I'm still enjoying where this could go. I'm really digging Stardust's anger at Goldust calling him “Cody,” to the point of straight-up abandoning his brother during their tag match against Dolph Ziggler and Ryback, resulting in a win for the latter team. Were there ever any two people more adept at spinning straw into gold than the Rhodes boys? I trust them to make something cool out of this, even if the writing leaves them hanging (which is more than likely, let's face it). And, as I said last week, the prospect of Goldust/Cody Rhodes matches has me positively shivering with anticipation.

Most Hilarious Lack of Friendship – Curtis Axel
Poor Curtis Axel. On this show he had to watch his former tag partner, Ryback, come out with Dolph Ziggler, apparently the bro-iest of bros and thus seeming to indicate that Ryback and Axel are never getting back together. So what's a guy left without his best bro to do? Fail to get AxelMania off the ground and then get soundly beaten by Dean Ambrose, it would seem. If it was anyone else, I'd probably be pleading for someone to offer the hand of friendship, but it's Curtis Axel. He's so tone deaf to his own mediocrity that it's somehow adorable. His lack of friendship is a boon to the rest of us.

Most Boring Friendship Break-Up – Adam Rose and the Rosebuds
Week 43 (or so it seems) of the Adam Rose and the Rosebuds break-up and it was still horribly uninteresting. At least Fandango got a win out of it.

Least Hilarious Lack of Friendship – Erick Rowan
Like Curtis Axel, Erick Rowan also appears to be out of friends. While Ryback and Ziggler appeared to be best pals, it seems Rowan is out of the group and on his own. His best buddy Cena wasn't around and he couldn't even have a match against a former Wyatt family friend. Instead, Rowan was thrown out against Rusev and his loss didn't count for anything other than a warning to Cena of what Rusev is capable of. Unlike Curtis Axel, Rowan doesn't have any of the former's hapless charm, resulting in Rowan really floundering on his own.

Least Convincing Lack of Friendship – Paige
In a backstage interview Paige stated that the Bella twins can keep embarrassing her all they want, but she'll just keep marching to the beat of her own drum. That declaration of independence would have all been very well if Nikki Bella hadn't done a pretty good job of pointing out that Paige really isn't that different from the rest of the women's division. She's on Total Divas, for heaven's sake! Her image is just as much a part of her appeal as the rest of them. Because of this, Paige's assertions about being not like other girls just rang hollow and her insistence that she wouldn't even want to be friends with the other women had me rolling my eyes. She should have just been confident in her ability to take the title and laughed about the Bellas being so weirdly obsessed with her skin tone (seriously, the spray tanner thing was way more embarrassing for them than her. Why do they care so much? And they keep calling her a vampire but vampires are cool and also can definitely kill you. So...good insult, ladies).

I've said this about Nikki Bella before, but she can be such a good villain because on one hand she's absurd with her spiky backwards ball cap and her lack of clever insults, but on the other hand she can destroy you. This feud between her and Paige should be about Paige not being intimidated by the Bellas'Mean Girls shtick and forcing Nikki to depend on her in-ring skills. Instead we're getting a title match based around physical appearance and internalized misogyny. It's doubly a shame because Paige and Alicia Fox had a match that I enjoyed a lot while it lasted. Both women came out strong and put on a good show before Fox tapped. I know Paige and Nikki Bella will have a similarly good match at Fast Lane, I just wish there was more substance behind it.

Best Friends – Seth Rollins and J and J Security
Like anything else was going to get this spot this week. I hugely enjoyed Bryan and Rollins' match on RAW, and on Smackdown I got to see these two lock up again but with the addition of FRIENDSHIP, with Rollins being joined by Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury. They were predictably adorable, with pre-match fist bumping and mutual support throughout. Friendship aside, J and J were a pleasant addition in the ring as well. I can't see myself getting tired of Rollins and Bryan any time soon (oh god, I hope I didn't just jinx us all), but it was still nice to mix things up, since we'd already seen a couple of the same match-ups that were on RAW. I especially enjoyed Rollins snarling to Bryan: “You want to fight Brock Lesnar? THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE,” and then German suplexing him. A+ taunting. Eventually Mercury tapped and Bryan won. It was a really fun match and pretty much a perfect way to end Smackdown. I was all set to end the show with a smile on my face thanks to all of the friendship and good wrestling, but then Kane had to come in to rough up Bryan and ruin everything. They promised me it was over! I made that “nail in the coffin” joke and everything! Damn it, Kane!

Bobby Roode went first overall. Who'd follow him? Photo Credit: Lee South/ImpactWrestling.com

For the last two years or so, TNA has been the subject of closure rumors and reports. Each time, the promotion has bucked those reports and stayed open. While TNA ridiculously still has a rep as America's #2 wrestling promotion with a portion of the fanbase, it has been majorly downsized in scope in the last five years. Yet, Dixie Carter still is able to pay competitive wages if one were to exclude WWE, so maybe the ship isn't taking on too much water. Still, I can't think of a company that has a roster full of notable wrestlers that has absolutely no buzz whatsoever. It's almost as if wrestlers like Austin Aries, Samoa Joe, and Kurt Angle are cryogenically frozen in time, let out only to wrestle in one-off indie shows. The current climate led me to ponder this hypothetical; would the wrestling landscape significantly suffer a loss if TNA went out of business? What if the rumors did come to fruition, and TNA did shut down?

With the TNA roster in diaspora, I recruited four people to draft wrestlers previously under contract to draft them to one of four worldwide wrestling companies:

• World Wrestling Entertainment
• Lucha Underground
• Ring of Honor
• New Japan Pro Wrestling

I recused myself from drafting and left the duty to four intrepid volunteers from Twitter:

• @nieljacoby/Niel - He took New Japan
• @SammyJ_D/Sammy - He received ROH
• @thedesertpope/Mat - He selected Lucha Underground
• @dajerseyboy/Jamie - He went with WWE

Their names were put into a hat and drawn at random to select the first round, and then from there, the draft was conducted in a serpentine fashion. The draft was conducted via e-mail, and lasted eight rounds. The following is how everything went, including blurbs from each drafter.

Round 1
1. NJPW - Robert Roode Niel says, "Roode's experience as a multi-time tag champ as well as a decorated singles competitor makes him perfect for helping rejuvenate our stale heavyweight tag scene, as well as a singles competitor, possibly contending for the NEVER or IC belts."

2. ROH - Samoa Joe Sammy says, "First round pick and it is very tough. There was really two options for the #1 ROH pick. What I was looking for was someone with a history in the company, someone with immediately interesting matches available, and someone that fits into the company landscape. Samoa Joe ticks all those boxes. Joe is a similar case to AJ Styles in my eyes. He is a great wrestler who could have had a dramatically more critically acclaimed career if he hadn’t been in TNA. Samoa Joe would have a ton of interesting matches coming in against Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, ACH, Cedric Alexander, and clearly big money matches against Styles alone or heck, against Styles and Daniels. One of the 'forgotten' classics in ROH history vs. Jay Briscoe could be met with a full on feud for the belt that Joe established in 2015."

3. Lucha - Ethan Carter III Mat says, "While a lot of Lucha Underground's acclaim rightly comes from the excellent, fast-paced matches they put on every week, to me the most exciting thing they've managed to do is create an intriguing, fully-formed world in only about three months worth of shows. So for my first-round pick, the most important thing to me was picking the best possible character to insert into that world, and that's ECIII. He's the perfect villain to be thrust upon this world because Lucha Underground is built so heavily upon the importance of tradition, both of lucha libre and that of Mexico itself, and here's this arrogant one-percenter who's been handed everything he's ever wanted, who couldn't be even remotely bothered to know or care about. He's everything that Lucha Underground's ace, Prince Puma, is not, and while there might be an adjustment period with the wrestling matches themselves, what he can offer to every other aspect of the show completely overcomes those potential drawbacks."

4. WWE - Magnus Jamie says, "A few years, the idea of a TNA dispersal draft would have been a gold mine for WWE. But many of those stars have left Dixieland, so the pickings for ready-made WWE talent are slim. While Magnus isn't particularly outstanding at this stage in his career, he's young enough (28) and has the look, charisma and presence to be a main roster star. Wade Barrett's 34 and has been injury prone the last few years, so there may be a slot for a English hero coming sooner than later, and Magnus is as good a choice as any to fit that bill."

Round 2
1. WWE - James Storm Jamie says, "In the interest of full disclosure, I really wanted Ethan Carter III, just to prove that the WWE can admit when it makes a mistake on somebody. At first blush, James Storm isn't an obvious choice - at 37, he'd be one of the oldest performers on the main roster - but look closer. Can you honestly say that there's another wrestler in TNA that seems a more obvious fit than the Cowboy-slash-Revolution leader? He's a good enough worker, a great talker, and is one of the few TNA top stars that hasn't been in WWE, so he'd be fresh to that audience. Even if I get only four or five good years out of Storm, it's probably worth the pick."

2. Lucha - Awesome Kong Mat says, "Lucha Underground has rightfully gotten credit for being, sometimes-shady commentary aside, the most progressive wrestling show on TV when it comes to breaking down the gender barrier. That continues by taking advantage of Awesome Kong's recent TNA return with pick #2. And unlike Sexy Star, who has to constantly overcome the strength advantage possessed by her male opponents, Kong likely has the edge in power over all but three people on the Lucha Underground roster. She can work as either a no-nonsense, badass tecnico or a monster rudo depending on whatever the roster needs more. And besides, the 2012 Royal Rumble gave me the joy of watching her murder mouthy dudes with double underhook facebusters and it's been too long. Pro wrestling needs this. You cannot convince me otherwise."

3. ROH - Austin Aries Sammy says, "Shockingly, the other possible #1 pick for Ring of Honor was still on the board for the second round. Austin Aries is another wrestler with obvious ties to the history of ROH. This is someone I would bring in and reward old fans. Whether it be teaming with former Generation Next members, Roderick Strong and Matt Sydal, or having them all face off, there are a couple of very interesting directions you can take Austin Aries."

4. NJPW - Low Ki Niel says, "As a multi-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champ, he would help breathe life into a neglected jr. heavyweight singles division."

Round 3
1. NJPW - MVP Niel says, "Not only is MVP a distinguished competitor in New Japan history, having been the inaugural IWGP Intercontinental champ, he's also an enthusiastic fan of Japanese wrestling, and would make a great commentator in one of our ventures towards growing an American audience."

2. ROH - Manik/TJP Sammy says, "While I’m drafting him as Manik, he won’t stay that once he comes back to ROH. Never really got a big run in ROH and honestly that probably wouldn’t change. TJ Perkins would be the utility player in the promotion and I think every promotion needs a few guys you can plug into numerous situations. Whether it to be leading a youngster via team or series of matches, scramble matches, or tying down the TV title for consistently good wrestling, TJP is the guy."

3. Lucha - The Great Sanada Mat says, "Real talk, I was going to give a whole spiel about the El Rey Network's love of old-school martial arts movies and how Low Ki's old 'It is not the the size of the man in the fight but the size of the fight that he will bring' act finally having somewhere where it doesn't feel really out of place, but then he got picked! Whoops.

Instead, that spot goes to The Great Sanada, whose Muta-inspired character is equally at home in a company where characters like the bile-spitting, actual-dragon-in-luchadore-form Drago are the norm. He'd serve as a great ally to Pentagon Jr., whose backstory involves splitting from Mexico and lucha tradition to go train in the dojos of Japan, and I honestly can't think of anyone on the roster who you could put Sanada up against where my reaction wouldn't be 'Oh, hey, that sounds pretty fun.'"

4. WWE - Gail Kim Jamie says, "I know that Kim's been in WWE twice, and it didn't work out well either time. But this era of WWE is much more interested in a viable women's division, and Gail Kim almost immediately becomes no worse than the fourth-best female in-ring performer. She can slide easily into main roster feuds with the likes of Natalya, Paige and the Bellas, or play the same role Tyson Kidd did in NXT - be the in-ring leader to get great matches out Charlotte and Sasha Banks. Plus there's a wildcard - Gail's got a quasi-celebrity husband (celebrity chef Robert Irvine) and you know that WWE could find a way to work THAT into a certain reality series."

Round 4
1. WWE - Jeff Hardy Jamie says, "This is the ultimate high-risk/high-reward pick. Yes, he would come back to WWE with two strikes in the Wellness Policy, and the risk of a flameout is great. But of all the ex-WWE stars in this draft, Hardy is arguably the only one (save perhaps Kurt Angle) that was a legitimate main event draw there. In fact, you could argue that Hardy was the biggest star in WWE in 2009 before his departure. I'm pretty sure there's a fanbase that would pay money to see him if he came back, and there's a slew of "dream matches" with the likes of Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan or Sami Zayn that would be pretty amazing. In the fourth round, I'm willing to roll the dice to see if I can't catch lightning in a bottle with Hardy again."

2. Lucha - Tigre Uno Mat says, "In round four, Lucha Underground finally goes for the obvious and drafts the actual luchadore on the TNA roster. It's just valuable roster depth; Tigre Uno would probably be a tier below the top guys, but would serve as a good foil for the likes of King Cuerno and Drago, though giving him a run as a Black Tiger-esque figure against Prince Puma is a possibility as well."

3. ROH - Matt Hardy Sammy says, "This is someone I could have easily let WWE scoop up but think he would be a valuable asset to bring back into the ROH fold even without Jeff. The Kingdom is doing alright for itself I suppose but I’d really like to tie Hardy back into the mix. Hopefully be able to deliver a definitive series with the Briscoes, possibly becoming a pretty major heel champion."

4. NJPW - Kenny King Niel says, "King's youth and athleticism makes him a prime candidate for IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title contention, and with most of our current jr.. stars either making the jump to heavyweight, approaching old age, or being heavily featured in the jr. tag division, this would help us separate the singles and tag title scenes."

Round 5
1. NJPW - Eddie "Eddie Edwards" Edwards Niel says, "See below."

2. ROH - Drew Galloway Sammy says, "Starting to get to people that need more of a case for them to be drafted for their brand. Well Galloway is my first pick that doesn’t have ties to ROH. I think El Patron, a bigger star of course, would be the most similar case here with Galloway. Galloway actually would most likely be able to appear more thus deliver more. Good old Drew has established his wrestling prowess and that plus his intensity would fit in well with ROH. His series with Roderick Strong in EVOLVE has proven that. He would also be a lovely addition if ROH wanted to take a pit stop in the UK, like they did with PCW last year."

3. Lucha - Homicide Mat says, "As anyone who's read Lucha Underground proprietor/obligatory heel authority figure Dario Cueto's Twitter feed can attest, there's nothing he appreciates more than violence, and Lucha Underground's fifth-round pick brings it in spades. Homicide's best days are perhaps behind him, but he can still acquit himself well in multi-man matches, an area where The Crew are starting to break out themselves. With a couple of his old running buddies (Cortez Castro and Bael, a.k.a. Ricky Reyes and B-Boy) in the group already, adding Homicide gives them a recognizable name and makes them an even greater threat to anyone who gets on Cueto's bad side."

4. WWE - Gunner Jamie says, "Gunner is my nod to the "WWE prototype" in that he's got good size and a good physique. But in TNA he's also shown flashes of being a very good worker and has more than acceptable skills on the mic. While I don't think he's a legitimate singles star on the main roster, I could certainly see him being successful as part of a tag-team. Replace the ungodly boring Connor O'Brien with Gunner in the Ascension, for example, and while the act might still be a dud it would be a significant step-up in the ring."

Round 6
1. WWE - Khoya Jamie says, "I haven't seen enough of the former Mahabali Shera, other than a few bits on Ra King King, to know if the raw potential is there for him to be a good professional wrestler. But I do know that with Great Khali and Jinder Mahal gone there's a huge opening for an Indian superstar. Popularity in India is a huge priority - it's got a huge population and there's no secret that the WWE think it can make big money there. Why not take a flyer on a guy who might end up meaning something for you there?"

2. Lucha - Zema Ion Mat says, "At this point it was primarily a matter of picking the guy who I felt could fit best out of who was left, and Zema 'DJ Z' Ion stood out as a valuable utility midcard heel. Not only does he have significant experience wrestling in lucha promotions, but he's also proven equally adept at playing ridiculous comedy gimmicks (insert irritating DJ sampling noise here) or playing a more straightforward, dastardly heel a la his run as X-Division Champion a couple years ago."

3. ROH - Eric Young Sammy says, " First pick that might be a stretch for ROH. Young is a quality wrestler but not quite in the vane of other roster members. That being said, more workers in the vein of wrestler of Mike Bennett mixed with some of the 'athletes' of ROH is a plus in my opinion. If nothing else Young could be a comedy guy like he's been for so long."

4. NJPW - Davey Richards Niel says, "The American Wolves are one of the most decorated tag teams available, and would make a great addition to our jr. heavyweight tag division, which has started to become stagnant and revolve around three or four teams wrestling each other again and again."

Round 7
1. NJPW - Abyss Niel says, "Again, see below."

2. ROH - Rockstar Spud Sammy says, "Spud has undeniable charisma but might not seem like the perfect fit for ROH. He could easily be a lighthearted undercard act that blows away the Romantic Touch. I think Spud also could be valuable in a dastardly heel manager role who occasionally wrestles. A foil for Robert Evans? Why not? At the very least he has a couple of directions the act can be taken and I am a big fan of flexibility, especially with so many wrestlers in ROH that currently could be moving around on the card."

3. Lucha - Tyrus Mat says, "With the state of the board in Round 7, Lucha Underground moves on to supplementing the first-round ECIII pick by bringing his enforcer along for the ride. I doubt Tyrus would wrestle much, but that's fine. HIs niche is in being a big, tough guy who acquits himself well on the character side of things, and ECIII can't go it alone, right? He's at his best with an entourage or at least one guy to play off of, and ECIII and Tyrus together has been a bright spot for TNA in recent months."

4. WWE - Robbie E Jamie says, "In the interest of full disclosure - I like the Bromans gimmick and think Robbie E is really good in his role. Yes, the whole package is cheesy and way over the top, but sometimes undercard gimmicks are supposed to be. I know the initial complaint about this pick will be that Robbie's just a Zack Ryder clone, but in some ways Robbie's got more presence and charisma even if he's not as good a worker. He's overpushed as a featured act in TNA, but as a comedy opening match guy in WWE he'll be better than most."

Round 8
1. WWE - Kurt Angle Jamie says, "Let's be clear - I don't want Kurt Angle to wrestle full-time in WWE. I'm not even sure I want him to do more than a handful of matches in a 'retirement tour' of sorts. But I believe that Angle should be back in the WWE, because a lot of the great matches of the most popular era in the history of wrestling were Kurt Angle matches. So let him do a few matches, do a retirement stip at Summerslam 2015, and then have Kurt ride off into the sunset on a Legends contract or perhaps as a trainer in NXT. You could do a whole lot worse."

2. Lucha - Madison Rayne Mat says, "With nearly all of the Knockouts Division still on the board, Lucha Underground's final pick is someone I think has been lost in the shuffle there. At Madison Rayne's peak in TNA, she was a brilliantly conniving villain (with a pageant queen motif, because why not) who would take any and every possible shortcut to keep the Knockouts title around her waist. Given the way that Sexy Star and even Ivelisse are depicted, as women who have no fear of throwing down with men and giving as good as they get, having Madison show up and take every single cowardly shortcut en route to winning matches, all the while bragging about being equal to or better than the women who have actually fought on level terms and proved themselves, could be an effective rudo act. It'd be incredibly dependent on nailing the execution, but given the way Lucha Underground has course-corrected on a lot of the problematic elements of the first few episodes, I'd trust them to be able to pull it off."

3. ROH - Bobby Lashley Sammy says, "Couldn’t resist. Lashley is not your prototypical ROH guy but with so many smaller wrestlers on the roster he could have a helluva time throwing them around. Lashley is also someone who is willing to take some big old bumps. Throw Lashley in the main event on arrival and then ease this fella down the card to have the smaller wrestlers moving up, have a giant to conquer."

4. NJPW - Bram Niel says, "While Abyss and Bram are getting up there in years, their height and presence could make them a valued undercard heavyweight tag act, perhaps joining one of our neglected factions."

---

The draft went somewhat like I had expected with a few exceptions. For example, Bobby Roode going first overall to New Japan was a bit of a surprise, especially since he was pegged as a midcard guy. Then again, TNA may not have many ready-to-main event guys on the roster, no matter how many solid hands exist there right now. Another big surprise to me is HAVOK going undrafted. Sure, New Japan doesn't have a women's division (which, c'mon now, you're the second biggest company in the world, it's time to give the joshis some shine), but all three other companies utilize women. Gail Kim as a WWE pick after she failed there twice before over HAVOK was a bit of a questionable move.

Still, I think each promotion filled their needs and got the superstars that could fit there. New Japan got a bit older, but its roster can absorb the older talent with the younger wrestlers like Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, and Kenny Omega stepping up into the main event. Also, it seems wrestlers in Japan last nearly forever, so I wouldn't necessarily count out Hiroshi Tanahashi or Shinsuke Nakamura either. WWE got some of its prodigal sons (and daughters) back while getting talent that it could mold for a bit in NXT like Khoya and Gunner. Lucha Underground collected the most vibrant assortment of talent, and ROH bolstered its in-ring roster with some old favorites and new fits.

But the biggest thing this draft showed me is that not only did four promotions get stronger, but the wrestlers within TNA would seem like bigger deals in the wrestling world at large now. Of course, in the real world, TNA will grind on and grind on and probably last until the atomic bombs rain down from the heavens after someone accidentally sets off a nuclear strike that hilariously and appropriately ends the human race. However, a world where its wrestlers are spread around the wrestling scene at large seems a lot more fun, doesn't it?

Hacksaw is one of three guests on the AOW this week Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Art Of Wrestling
Episode: 236 (Feb. 4, 2015)
Run Time: 1:13:57
Guest:“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan (2:55); Shane Douglas (22:10), Greg “The Hammer” Valentine (49:49)

Summary: Colt Cabana recorded this live episode a few weeks ago at Magic City Comic Con. His chat with Duggan opens with calling an audience member’s mother before they chat about the iconic 2x4, Duggan’s run in Mid-South, how he got the flag-carrying gimmick and a few stories about Andre the Giant and Jake Roberts. The next guest is a return appearance from Douglas, who explains the meager profits wrestlers earn from merchandise sales and talks about the physical sacrifices it took to be a wrestler in the 1990s. He also opens up about his time with the Dynamic Dudes and the negotiation process for his second WWF run in 1996. The final guest, Valentine, explains how he got into the business and why he’s still working independent shows, shares stories of working with Jimmy Hart and asserts he’s much more settled down from his earlier, wilder days.

Quote of the week: Douglas, on a memorable night in a heel town: “So Johnny (Laurinaitis) and I go into the ring that night, and we’re working with Midnight Express. He’s supposed to start with Bobby Eaton, who’s phenomenal. And they’re circling around and I see Stan’s (Lane) over there on the apron, putting his arm up over his face, trying to cover up. (Jim Cornette’s) got his tennis racquet up in front of his face, Bobby Eaton’s trying to cover his face up, and Johnny, steam’s coming out of his ears. … He goes ‘tag in!’ so I put my hand up and he smacks the hell out of my hand … I get through the ropes and I lock up and Bobby, who always has a very funny talking style, he’s really hard to understand, he says, ‘Shane boy, when I push you off, why don’t you take a look in the stands to your right.’ So he pushes me off and I take three steps away form him to create the distance and I look over, and in the very top tier of the Philadelphia Spectrum, I see a great big sign, wall-sized, like 10 feet by eight feet, it’s huge. Bright, fluorescent pink letters. And it says ‘Johnny sucks Shane’s cock.’”

Why you should listen: Many of Cabana’s live shows, especially those form Scotland in August, suffer for podcast listeners by including guests quite unfamiliar to the home audience. That’s not the case here by any stretch. Duggan and Valentine are more lucid than might be expected, and Douglas’ spot is entirely different from his mid-October appearance. Fans of the Old School Wrestling Podcast will enjoy hearing Duggan pronounce his last name as “Doogan” and tell his gorilla suit story, Douglas’ retelling of negotiating with Vince McMahon and developing the Dean Douglas character are wonderful and Valentine really hits home talking about his love of being in the ring, inherited directly from his famous father.

Why you should skip it: The worst part of the show is the audio issues during the Valentine segment, which Cabana acknowledges. It was frustrating he didn’t have time to dig deeper with any of the guests, especially Duggan, who appeared on the cusp of either telling some really great stories or actually unpacking some of the more challenging times of his career. Valentine was equally unexplored, and I was left curious how the discussion might have gone if it were he and Cabana sitting in a locker room after an indie show, like his long-age chat with Hillbilly Jim. Also, Douglas spends a few minutes in a dark place, talking about wrestlers’ deaths and struggles. It’s clearly not the mood Cabana wants for his live audience, and that conflict is frustrating no matter which man’s focus you’d prefer win out.

Final thoughts: As Cabana’s live shows go, this probably was my favorite. There were no comedy bits to fall flat, just three quick interviews with three huge names. The format certainly left some things unexplored (given a choice between hearing about Valentine’s days with his hair dyed black or Duggan’s infamous drug arrest with the Iron Sheik, I’d trade the one we got for the one we didn’t), but it was enjoyable nonetheless. As long as you realize what you’re not getting, this one should be enjoyable.

The only picture of Rollins you'll see on this article Photo Credit:WWE.com

Right before RAW went on the air last night, a picture of a nude woman, later identified as NXT trainee Zahra Schreiber, appeared on Seth Rollins' Twitter and Instagram feeds. Then, on Rollins' fiancee Leighla Schultz's feed, a picture of his phallus appeared. The photos were quickly taken down, but not before the Internet got a hold of them. They've been saved to numerous hard drives and live on in cyberspace despite the fact that Rollins and Schreiber never meant for them to be stolen and delivered to the public in the first place. Schultz has admitted posting the pictures in retaliation for infidelity from her future (?) husband.

A story such as this requires sensitivity since these pictures were obviously private and not meant to be shared between anyone except for Rollins and apparently Schreiber. However, it is news, so it should be reported, I suppose. So, I have come up with a list of dos and don'ts in how to cover such a story:

DON'T share the pictures. Not only are the pictures violations of two people's privacy, but they're stolen property. It's gross.

DON'T share doctored versions of the pictures. Putting a Money in the Bank briefcase or some other censoring bauble on top of the "naughty" parts doesn't make it any less gross or any less of an invasion of privacy.

Seriously, DON'T keep the pictures on your goddamn hard drive in any form. Fucking delete them. God, you do know women and men are on the Internet consensually sharing their naked bodies on a billion websites out there, right? Ron Jeremy will show you his cock for a modest fee , or even for free if you go to one of the Tube-sites.

DON'T blame Schreiber for any of this. You don't know her role, and even if you did, it's none of your business.

DON'T equate Schultz's actions in the same breath as people who operate "revenge porn" sites. Technically, they're the same actions, but the degree of difference between an apparently jilted lover acting out in frustration and sadness is way way way WAY less severe than the scumbags who take those videos and post them for ad revenue on their sites. What she did was wrong, but put the pitchforks away, r/MensRights.

DON'T rationalize posting stolen, intimate pictures as retaliation for infidelity. Other ways are in the open to deal with an unfaithful partner, ones that don't escalate the action to overreactionary levels.

DON'T think of Rollins as 100% a victim here. Again, no one knows the specifics, but if he went outside his engagement, then he's wrong here.

In fact, DON'T formulate an opinion of the situation beyond the picture theft unless you know the relationship between Rollins and Schultz. Seriously, don't.

DON'T speculate on how this will affect Rollins' push. Remember when Adrian Peterson beat his kid with a switch, and people immediately started wondering how it would affect his fantasy value? Remember how much people laughed at those idiots for failing to grasp the situation? Yeah, you'd be doing the same thing here.

ETA: DON'T make threats to anyone, especially Schultz. Jesus, you fucking animals. JESUS.

And finally, DO mind your own goddamn business. I know that once the pictures went live on Instagram and Twitter that it became a public story, but the public elements of the story are easy to discern from the private ones. The public ones are pretty easy to ignore as well if one so chooses. Basically, this situation is a pressure cooker among three adults that needs to be handled among those three adults. Rollins and Schultz need their privacy to work through whatever problems they have, and having every nose pry into it with baseless speculation or even more invasive action helps no one.

The American obsession with what goes on behind everyone's closed doors is one of the most abhorrent mob tendencies in a country that leaves several other grotesque warts out for display in the open air. Just because Schultz put it out in the open on one occasion doesn't make the entire affair public domain, no matter how many page hits, dollars, or Twitter followers are at stake. Let them handle their affairs in private and be decent for once, okay?

Lovelace shown here giving MISSILE (!) ASSAULT (!) ANT (!) a kick he won't soon forget Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

Another year is in the books, so another round of evaluating and ranking wrestlers is looming on the horizon. The TWB 100 will be happening again this year, and while the announcement will not come until the first or second week of March, it doesn't mean you don't have to worry about your ballot until then. Perhaps you feel secure in your ballot right now, but odds are, wrestlers exist who are off your radar that could use a little studying up upon. I am here to help you with your homework in that department.

Wrestler: Heidi Lovelace

Who Is She?: Lovelace is a graduate of the first class of the School of Roc training facility in Indiana. She's worked extensively along the Ohio Valley and Mid-South regions of the United States, making forays also onto the East Coast and into Japan. She trained with men, came up wrestling men nearly exclusively in her first couple of months, and still works a fair amount of intergender matches around the circuit. In 2014, she started working more dates for Chikara, including National Pro Wrestling Day and the annual Young Lions Cup tournament, which she won.

What's Her Deal?: Lovelace spent the first year or so of her career bumping her ass off and making everyone else look good, but over the last year, she's developed a key offensive identity and now is becoming a well-rounded, solid showcase worker. She still knows how to get her ass kicked; she's not afraid of any bump one might put in front of her. However, her matches have become less one-sided and more competitive with experience. She's very much a standard, super-indie style worker, but she's one that knows the value of making the other guy or gal look good.

Why You Should Consider Her For Your Ballot: Like I stated in the above paragraph, she knows the value of making her opponent look good, which helps elevate even her lower-tier matches into something a bit more dramatic. Too many times have I seen matches where the wrestlers involved only seem to want to look like they're the biggest, strongest, and most macho assholes around, but Lovelace seems to have an idea of balance. Plus, she can throw a strike with the best of them. No one can walk away from a match where Lovelace has competed and not thought she belonged in the ring, whether the opponent is another woman, a smaller man like Danny Cannon, or a larger guy like Joe Pittman. She, along with Candice LeRae and Kimber Lee, is the ultimate gender eraser candidate.

Matches to Watch:

vs. Danny Cannon, Evolution Pro St. Patrick's Beatdown, 3/13

vs. Matt Cage, AAW on MaddyG TV, Season Two, Episode One (starts at 10:32)

Trips with the big conference call news today Photo Credit: WWE.com

Triple H revealed during the conference call for NXT Takeover: Rival that his goal for the developmental territory is to be its own, touring brand by 2016. The exact quote, as transcribed by the folks over at Voices of Wrestling on Twitter, says "My goal by the end of 2015 going into 2016 is to have (NXT) be a completely touring brand no different than the main roster." This is a bold move for the developmental territory, and it's one that's sorely needed.

NXT currently only regularly tours around Florida right now, mainly in the central/northern part of the state. Two dates were previously announced in Ohio to coincide with the Arnold Classic bodybuilding competition for March 5 and 6 in Columbus and Cleveland respectively. These dates are the first NXT shows to be scheduled outside of Florida ever since it ceased being a touring arm of the main WWE roster and replaced Florida Championship Wrestling as WWE's developmental grounds. Triple H himself is a booster of the Arnold Classic, and NXT wrestler Dana Brooke will be competing in the show this year. However, the shows were thought to be standalone cards.

Triple H hasn't announced a timetable for getting NXT on the road yet outside of wanting it to be a reality by the end of the year. Logistically, NXT has a good deal staying at Full Sail University, and interrupting may take several moving parts to achieve. I doubt the developmental brand will abandon the venue altogether, but looking at how the taping schedule or placement of special live Network events are affected will be interesting going forward.

Despite the plum deal that the territory has with Full Sail, the brand has outgrown that venue. NXT's biggest weakness right now is the crowd it performs in front of. While the Full Sail crowd is energetic, loud, and supportive, it is a provincial, non-typical crowd that does not get the wrestlers ready for the main roster and whose reactions may give false indications as to which acts were ready for prime time. Blaming the underperformance of NXT gimmicks on the main roster solely on the crowd difference is lazy, and it's certainly not the whole reason why Adam Rose, Emma, and others haven't latched on yet. However, if talent evaluators have nothing else to go on but a crowd that represents a small percentage of the "smartest," most hardcore sliver of WWE fans, of course their observations may be skewed.

The question would then become what kind of crowds would NXT attract when it tours out? Triple H can actually help control that through pricing options and arena choices. Having a WWE-branded show out of podunk bingo halls like the ECW Arena or Manhattan Center may not jibe with the current BIGGER BADDER BETTER corporate slogan-mongering going on at Titan Towers, but it would definitely create an opportunity for a lower-priced ticket for families who may love wrestling but don't have the budget to head to RAW or even the house show circuit in their towns. A more intimate and local crowd with a less expensive ticket could end up bringing out the most fickle yet most rewarding fans to win over.

NXT is at an interesting crossroads where expansion probably looks attractive, but the tender balance may not be ready to be upset in too drastic a fashion. Expanding the touring options right now is the best possible option for the territory to take, one that won't screw with its perfectly-incubated one hour of television a week, but will help season its wrestlers not only for the main roster, but also for its own televised narrative.

Rosenberg trades the co-host chair for the guest spot on the Austin show this week Photo Credit: Deneka Peniston

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Steve Austin Show
Episode: 193
Run Time: 1:14:26
Guest: Peter Rosenberg, part one (25:02)

Summary: Austin opens the show with a few stories about his recent RV travels, and eventually he welcomes his guest, New York radio personality and Cheap Heat podcast cohost Peter Rosenberg for part one of an in-person interview (the second is due Thursday). They talk about music, life in Los Angeles, how Rosenberg got into into hip-hop, his various radio gigs and celebrity feuds and his favorite football team, the Washington Redskins. Eventually they start talking about wrestling and how Rosenberg became a fan, as well as thoughts about some of the older commentators and their strengths and weaknesses.

Quote of the week:“When CM Punk and Daniel Bryan became two of the top three or four biggest starts in the company, and I told Punk this and he geeked for it, he understood what I meant, I said, ‘You guys are like if Mos Def and Talib Kweli became the two most popular rappers in music.’ So I champion those guys, I champion the CM Punks and Daniel Bryans of hip-hop. And some of them, like Kendrick Lamar, have now made it to the John Cena position, and that’s very exciting for me. It’s great business for both of us.”

Why you should listen: If you enjoy Rosenberg on Cheap Heat or any of his other outlets, you’ll probably like him here. His personality is pretty much what you’d expect from how he presents elsewhere, and it’s somewhat amusing to envision he and Austin sitting down at 316 Gimmick St.

Why you should skip it: If you listen to Cheap Heat, you already know well where Rosenberg stands on Vince McMahon and Gorilla Monsoon as announcers, as it’s been discussed at length in recent weeks. If you come to the Steve Austin Show to hear wrestling talk, skip all the way ahead to about 57:25, because everything before that is just chitchat about stuff quite unlikely to move any of your needles.

Final thoughts: Rosenberg grates on me on Cheap Heat, and as such I wasn’t at all looking forward to this episode. It was much more tolerable than I expected, though perhaps that’s because they spent so little time discussing wrestling and the ground they covered was familiar. I remain cautiously pessimistic about part two on Thursday.

Do you want all the HOT ROLLINS TAKES? Horb's got 'em! Photo Credit: WWE.com

Guess who's back? That's right, Ol' HORB FLERBMINBER is back with a VENGEANCE. Literally, I am out for blood. Bryan Alvarez kidnapped my cat Nermal and sent him to Abu Dhabi, AND HE DIDN'T EVEN SPRING FOR FIRST CLASS. What a cheap motherfucker, hoarding all that sweet F4W newsletter scrilla for his ADDICTION TO FONDANT ICING MIXED WITH METHYL-ETHYL KETONE. Anyway, regardless of any extenuating circumstances, I am back with the scoops. I ALWAYS BRING THE SCOOPS. I am the MAD REAPER, and my scoops are the REAPETTES. You in this scenario are Pit, and I SEND THEM YOUR WAY WHENEVER YOU COME NEAR.

Now when I bring the news nuggets, I bring them with THE FURY AND THE SWIFTNESS, but I can't do it alone. I need help, lots of help, from several tipsters who either don't mind if they get no credit or who don't know what the word "plagiarism" means. If you fit either one of those descriptions, you can e-mail me your most tantalizing leads and e-coupons for rectal bronzing to ProWrestlingSKOOPZ@gmail.com. And if you want all the SCOOPS that I have been delivering since the beginning of the Universe, which may not have had a beginning at all, you need to follow me on Twitter, @HorbFlerbminber. If you don't, then how will you know when Vince McMahon gives birth to an alien on the penthouse floor of Titan Towers? YOU WON'T.

Back issues of the newsletter are unavailable this week pending the settlement of a class action lawsuit from the town of Peoria, IL. I donated a metric ton of old newsletters that weren't moving to the school district as a contribution to their "Kick the Living Shit Out of Illiteracy" campaign as well as to line hamster cages. Well, APPARENTLY, those old newsletters were riddled with spelling errors WHICH WERE DONE AFTER I HANDED THEM IN FOR COPY, and the newsprint had mutagenic properties and now the hamsters are the dominant predators in Peoria County. So if you want an old copy, you'll have to wait until the suit is settled.

Also, SKOOPZ  has a new sponsor this week, Hoffstadter's Edible Leiderhosen. This new product is a must-have for lovers who enjoy role-playing in the boudoir and who also have a voracious appetite before, during, or after intercourse. The leiderhosen come in an array of sizes and three different flavors: black licorice, lingonberry, and knockwurst. They also come endorsed by 2014 Album of the Year Grammy Award™ winner, Beck, who has this to say about the product:

Who the fuck are you and why are you stalking me?

Oh that Beck.

Also, don't forget, you're here forever.

- A nude picture of NXT developmental talent Zahra Schreiber appeared on Seth Rollins' Twitter feed Monday night before RAW. Shortly thereafter, a picture of Rollins naked and fully-frontally exposed appeared on his fiancee's Twitter. In an attempt at damage control, nude pictures of Roman Reigns were posted on every other WWE employee's Twitter and Instagram feeds with enhancements made around the penile area. Yes, even in nude pictures, WWE policy is to keep Reigns looking strong.

- In the wake of that scandal, the top trend on Twitter, oddly enough, was "How big is Batista's dick?"

- Vince McMahon has CHANGED the course of WrestleMania's main event from Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar to Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan after he was shown this advertisement and told that it's what happens to old promoters if they don't listen to the fans.

- New booking committee member Mr. Yelsmleh suggested that the main event be changed to Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar. He almost got away with it until Kevin Dunn accidentally knocked off his fake moustache, revealing him to be Triple H.

- Of course, these plans are HARD AND FAST and are not subject to any kind of changes, not even if McMahon has indigestion from putting too much Texas Pete on his cheeseburger.

- Dolph Ziggler has now gotten so desperate for a WrestleMania match that he's considering asking Zack Ryder. Even Ryder is balking, because getting tossed within the first minute of the Andre the Giant battle royale and stuffing his face at craft services sounds more appealing.

- FUTURE BOOKING PLANS FOR NJPW: The Bullet Club is planning on splitting in two, Bullet Club Classic and Bullet Club Wolf Party. Hiroshi Tanahashi is expected to join the Wolf Party faction, as it will be the "cooler," more hip version of the faction.

- CM Punk's mood is said to be perturbed.

- NATIONAL PRO WRESTLING DAY RESULTS: Juan Valdez d. Fire Crotch, Road Warrior Beardo d. Enron Corporation, The Gentlemanly Dairy Corporation read Shakespeare in the Park, some douchebag held up a "HE'S FAT" sign at a dude with a lower BMI than half the crowd, and a huge orgy happened at the end of the show.

- For those clamoring for Chris Benoit WWE Hall of Fame, so you can not keep the commandments, but you can watch the fight Thiago Silva on the NBC Sports Network 3/28. Ronnie Mark Silva faces of commercial theater in Nanjing on NBC Sports demonstrations led by Vs. Justin Gaethje Palomino Louis. Silva vs. Mark is part of the night race shows that there are serious enemies against Matt Hamill in the title.

- Family Wrestling Entertainment held a show Saturday night where the fans were told to keep quiet so they could pretend to give the world a whole card of empty arena matches.

- Vince Russo had Chyna on a live edition of his podcast this past weekend, and surprisingly, he didn't make a single clearly transphobic comment.

- TNA NEWS: Apparently, TNA still exists.

- This week on the Steve Austin show, Peter Rosenberg's two-part interview airs on both episodes this week. The first episode is Austin confused at Rosenberg saying "adjace" every other word, and the second episode is Rosenberg explaining what "adjace" means and Austin audibly banging his head on the desk in response.

- SMACKDOWN SPOILERS: Big Show turns 23 times within the first hour alone.

- WWE will tour Abu Dhabi next week and will enjoy the status as the most progressive organization in town.

- UFC has selected Weezer's "We Are All on Drugs" as the company's new theme song.

- Last week's poll results are in, and 57% of you think Daniel Bryan is only "catchphrase over," while 31% think he's over-over, and 12% think he's Moon over My-Hammy. This week:

The former ROH Champion was JR's guest this week Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: The Ross Report
Episode: 52 (Feb. 11, 2015)
Run Time: 1:44:17
Guest: Adam Cole (27:44)

Summary: Jim Ross brings on Ring of Honor standout Adam Cole, who starts by explaining his origin as a wrestling fan and how that evolved into training. The conversation then focused on being one’s own agent, the pros and cons of ROH, approach to individual work, Kevin “Owens” Steen’s background and WWE prospects, Cole’s career goals highlights and dream opponents as well as his post-wrestling plans and dealing with concussions.

Quote of the week: Cole: “Each and every thing, like I said, that I’ve done in wrestling, whether it be being in the car, being at the show, seeing the way production is done, listening to the booking teams — I’ve said this before, when I started wrestling training and I started wrestling and I graduated high school, I don’t mean this in that it’s not difficult, but I feel like I’ve never worked a day in my life. Because what I do I enjoy just way too much. It doesn’t feel like work to me. If I can stay in the wrestling business for as long as I can, I will feel like I had a very fulfilled and very lucky life.”

Why you should listen: Cole is very well spoken, and it’s nice to have someone on the air with Ross to give a response and context to Ross’ criticisms of ROH. This interview should serve as a fine introduction for anyone who is largely unfamiliar with Cole, and is perfect for anyone fond of the Art Of Wrestling approach to a lesser-known star talking about his lifelong love of wrestling and inviting fans to gain a better understanding of the person behind the character.

Why you should skip it: Ross can’t seem to decide if he’s going to do an interview — the Steve Austin approach of guiding a guest through a series to talking points and laying back to let them expound — or have a Colt Cabana-style conversation, in which host and guest play equal roles. When he opts for the latter, it’s awkward because he and Cole aren’t equals (in terms of their roles and experience) or friends. It doesn’t outright ruin the episode, but at some point you just want to hear what Cole thinks without Ross regurgitating one of his familiar talking points.

Final thoughts: There’s a reasonable chance Ross’ quirks, at least as displayed in this episode, are really only frustrating to the obsessives like myself who never miss a second. This was a fairly enjoyable interview, and that’s coming form someone with very little exposure to Cole or ROH. As is the case with a good episode of Cabana’s show, this talk made me want to learn more about Cole’s career and has me hoping he achieves al his career goals. It’s a nice changeup from Ross’ usual talks with performers whose best days are long behind them, and I appreciate his pursuit of variety.

At REvolution, Kevin Owens put the knife into Sami Zayn's back; at Rival he twisted. He did it with forearms and punches on an increasingly defenseless man, and when that failed to eliminate the heart of his former best friend he powerbombed him and he powerbombed him and he powerbombed him a few more times until it got him what naysayers would say only took him two months and what he would tell you took a decade and a half to get, into the record books as the sixth champion NXT's ever had.

Those words may be uncomfortable for some to read. That's the point. It couldn't've been any more cringe-inducing than what turned out to be the last five minutes of a (quelle surprise) superlative main event. The moment that shifted the flow, ironically enough, came from Zayn recovering from having taken a beating for most of the match only to follow up a corner Exploder with a Arabian moonsault suicida when Owens bailed out of possibly taking the Helluva kick. Owens hit the back of his head on the ramp; Sami hit his harder. What was left of Sami's mind was set to wrap it up with the Helluva, but his body was weak and staggered. The refs checked on Sami, then a trainer, then two, and through it all Owens kept turning the prestige event of WWE's Freebruary into his own borderline snuff film and resembling more of an assault by a drunken homeless man on someone over whose head he'd already cracked a beer bottle.

The powerbomb spam was just the poisoned cherry next to the broken glass sprinkles on the now former Champ's feces sundae. Then history happened. The ref called off the match. The possibility was there of a DQ, given Owens' ruthlessness. Then Owens was getting his hand raised. They teased the hope, just one more time, just for a few more seconds. And then he was getting the Big X, and while Zayn drifted off into unconsciousness, he celebrated the moment as if he'd gotten another child or bought his existing ones a puppy, shedding tears for the first time since all the way back on December 11 and his debut. That night was about realizing one kind of dream, and this the realization of another.

Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel. Hulk Hogan took a fireball to the face. John Cena took 16 Germans from the closest living embodiment of Thanos there's ever been but still got pinned when he lost at Summerslam. Sami Zayn? Sami Zayn lost by TKO. Sami Zayn lost by TKO to his former best friend. Sami Zayn lost by TKO to his former best friend in what should've been a non-title match; hell, Sami Zayn lost by TKO to his former best friend in what should've been a non-title match and became a title match per his instructions knowing full well said ex-best friend had pulled his strings and gotten him to dance after only one other title defense.

No wonder it looked like the Beast becoming the one in 21 and one all over again down in Full Sail.

Owens winning wasn't a surprise, but the cleanliness and means certainly were. It is a testament to Owens that once in charge he betrayed his just business stance in order to more fully realize himself as the French-Canadian Murder Bear he is and that his crowning moment in the industry ostensibly done for others still could leave a sour taste in many a mouth. Oh, not everybody - he's Kevin Owens. He is never going to get fully jeered by the crowd (especially considering this series of events) short of his lighting Daniel Bryan on fire. If a subset cheered him almost flatlining Zayn, then that subset's always going to be there. But converse to that subset is still another subset, the one that saw him admiring the reflection in the championship and kissing it like a newborn and even knowing better still went "...man, fuck that guy". Owens hears you both. He just doesn't care. And now Full Sail needs somebody to go in against this monster with Sami put back on the shelf at the hands of more vicious Owens bombs.

Fortunately, about an hour previous to this they found one who won't have to fight monsters to become one. And so far, when's he done it, he's been successful in his quest. Last time Finn Bálor and his Licker warpaint alongside Hideo Itami got the Ascension demoted to Mondays. This time, he and Adrian Neville had the possible match of the night (completely dependent on a) your feelings about Zayn getting turned from a solid into a vapor with the main and/or b) the women's championship four-way, more about which coming up imminently) with the number one contendership on the line and when it all came to pass it was Ireland 1, England 0.

Bálor had the usual pomp and circumstance coming into the arena, compounded all the hilariously more by the little girl patting him on the head when he was in repose against the railing and then doubled by the former NXT champion's screwface from the apron once it was all said and done. He didn't need to say "Can we wrestle now?"; his entire countenance said the unspoken. As it turned out, the answer was yes and once they started going at it...well, especially once the relative NXT newcomer stopped getting taken down to the mat by headlock takedowns, it was all good in Orlando's hood. Since this was a spotlight match during an NXT live two-hour spectacuganza, we got a tope con hilo, of course. But that wasn't the craziest moment, more of an amuse bouche to whet the appetite for what was to come. Bálor would dropkick Neville so hard the barrier would go back two rows and draw a holy shit chant even before he managed to pull out a Coup de Grâce to the back of a semi-standing Neville's head. The resultant kickout was a stunner, and while The Man That Gravity Forgot was able to pull out a couple of swank Germans and a second rope phoenix splash, and somehow that didn't end things.

But Bálor made the most of the rest of the match, taking over with a Sling Blade and a sweet Reverse Bloody Sunday. Neville would survive that, and his foe would survive the Red Arrow by getting his knees into it and nearly small packaging his way into victory. The resultant shotgun dropkick hand on the pump that did so much damage to Itami last week put Neville into position to take a second, full-on and final Coup to end what many fans were already chanting Match of the Year about. Code of Honor adhered, a wide wave of Thank You Neville as a disappointed former champion walked to the back, and Finn stared into the camera from the top rope not knowing what abyss he was about to look into. Let's think about something more cheery than the Zayn medical prognosis: two international stars and multiple-time champions who had yet to be brought into the fold even five months ago are going to go nose-to-nose and violence-to-violence for the Big X. Owens/Bálor for the Big X? You don't need an empty billfold or employment on Futurama to get behind that.

Reminder, however: that might not've actually been the MOTN. Hell, depending on dispositions, that might've been third. Hey, guess what: it turns out when NXT puts their divas front and center for the semi-main in their king-sized shows, the women always, always overdeliver on the promise inherit on the position. Put between the contendership bout and the main event they could've easily flailed or lost the crowd. That never was in danger of happening, however, and they gave the best possible showcase for everybody involved in the match. Charlotte was taken out early and borderline triple-teamed by her challengers; then again, Becky Lynch threw her into the LED board over the apron on the south side of the ring so hard it temporarily flatlined and had some fans looking for the ornithologist in IT scheduled to show up last week after a couple prior ones of teasing an arrival of his own. Team BAE fell out trying to pick Bayley's bones, then Lynch faux apologized before hitting Sasha Banks with a pumphandle suplex that nearly sent her flying out of the ring legitimately.

Banks didn't have far to roll before she was on the floor. Lynch got on a very familiar-looking submission hold (this is probably why Corey Graves hates her) before Sasha broke it up and screamed she made her erstwhile teammate. Lynch came back with a missile dropkick, then Charlotte came back in and didn't let missing her attempt on her former biffle stop her from rebound spearing the shamrocks out of Rebecca. She and Bayley briefly (inadvertantly?) teamed up for a wheelbarrow Codebreaker but that lasted as long as the move before Charlotte kicked her in the face. Sasha would manage to stack up both the champion and her business associate for the corner rope hung double knees, and the fireworks were to continue as Bayley came back into business and gave Sasha the table-top Exploder. Suddenly reinvigorated she was able to hit a series of step-up back elbows to Charlotte as a set up for a superrana off the top. The Belly To Bayley followed, but Lynch saved the match. Then they fell into fighting, allowing Banks to hit the between-the-ropes crossbody on them both, and then opening the door for Charlotte to plancha on all three of them.

When Charlotte couldn't finish off Lynch that left the door for Bayley to not only fight them both, but win as she German suplexed Irish out of the picture and took Charlotte out from the top with a super belly to Bayley that rocked the ring and the crowd's pleasure centers. Already brilliant, the match was polished off with Sasha pulling a No Mercy for the 64 and throwing out Bayley to pin Charlotte herself, only for the champion to kick out. Charlotte wasn't finished, but the end was drawing near for her as Sasha locked her down with a modified crossface that only was interrupted by Banks taking out Lynch (thus sending her into Bayley) and while Charlotte never tapped or got her arm raised and dropped three times, Banks wore down the Flair of NXT with it long enough to put her into position for a crucifix for the pin and the belt. It was hard to hear anything over the sound of Summer Rae officially becoming the LaTonya Tuckett of the BFFs, but Sasha had officially done it like a boss with a clean pinfall victory mid-ring over her former friend and champion to get the first title of her Stamford employ. If it hadn't been for the TKO to come it would've been the surprise finish for the evening (again by how and not by whom). Charlotte actually offered to replicate the Code of Honor before hugging Banks. Then, since they're who they were, Flair shoved, Banks shoved her harder, then mockingly whooed in her face and left up the ramp while proudly hoisting the crown overhead as the third Women's Champion of NXT.

Everyone got served like this was PBS on a Saturday night by this. Lynch justified her spot in by proving she could hang with the rest of them, Bayley did the most damage to Charlotte and had the match in the bag on several occasions while showing her increasing tougher side sans being a jerk about it, and Charlotte looked like the queen in defeat by taking all that damage and still almost being able to win and not getting tapped out against long odds in the dropping of the title. And Sasha? You know what she is now like you didn't already, and you know how she does it, too.

Baron Corbin snatching Bull Dempsey's lunch again wasn't a surprise. Come to think of it, Hideo Itami unleashing a flurry of kicks to beat on Tyler Breeze like a hanging bag in the opening wasn't, either. The tag title rematch was horribly awkward to start off with, including a few "ah geez can't edit that out" moments from the luchadores, but realigned itself by the tail end in their losing effort. Do you not possibly know how this goes by now? There's a formula to these things by now, and that formula is delicious. The main events are MOTY candidates. So are the women in the semi-main no matter what combo platter they fire off. There's usually another lower-card match worth going out of the way to see, and the rest is inoffensive. The bad moments barely garner a grumble and the great moments necessitate a change of pants. Corey Graves said it a couple of times during the show and was completely right: if this was somehow your introduction to the best hour(s) of wrestling on Earth, here's your late pass. Enjoy your new addiction.

Enjoy it like an Owens on a powerbomb binge sending a Zayn to a morphine drip. And make sure to show up next week, since they swear they'll have those weird technical problems fixed by then.

We have a big weekend coming up, as Valentine’s Day lands on Saturday. Now, a lot of people hate the holiday (hell, it’s not even a real holiday). I, for one, don’t care about it one way or another because I show my wife love and appreciation (or at least try to) every day of the year, not just this one randomly chosen date. It’s really kind of dumb and stressful for a lot of people and it should probably go away.

Heck, we’re spending our V-Day at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz for the seventh season premiere of Air Sex. Honestly, if you want to do something different than dinner and a movie (or whatever else people do on V-Day), head to downtown Austin, drop by the Ritz, watch people make love to the air in front of them, then go home with your significant other and maybe, I dunno, take some of what you saw and put it to real use with each other. You’re both consenting adults, you can do whatever you want.

But the real treat this weekend happens on Sunday, February 15th as Inspire Pro Wrestling presents… UNDENIABLE!

The event takes place, as it always does, at the Marchesa Hall and Theater located at 6226 Middle Fiskville Rd in Austin, TX (situated between Highland Mall and I-35) at 6 PM. Doors open at 5:15, earlier than usually, as last month there were so many folks trying to get in that they had to start the show late (for the first time ever). At ECSTACY OF GOLD II they had to find extra seats just for people to sit in as all the regular seats were filled, plus the walls were lined with people standing. People had to be turned away. Don’t be one of those people. Head over to their website and purchase your tickets now. You don’t want to wait in line for such a length, that by the time you get to the ticket table, they tell you that they are sorry, but you can’t join in on the fun. That’ll be such a bummer! So, grab those tickets now to reserve yourself a spot, because this is a show you definitely do not want to miss.

Typically in these previews I would break down the show match-by-match, but this card is a little different. There are so many people making their debuts with Inspire Pro (Mr. Touchdown, Nicole Savoy, Angelus Layne, Vanessa Kraven), that there aren’t too many stories behind the matches. But a couple of them stand out, so I will go into a bit of depth on those.

The first of those is the six man tag team main event pitting Inspire Pro Champion “Dirty” Andy Dalton, “Bleeding Heart” Davey Vega (I am SO buying his shirt), and NWA North American Champion Tim Storm against “Centerfold” Matthew Palmer, Ray “Death” Rowe, and “The Bionic Beast” Franco D’Angelo. First and foremost, this match is going to be bonkers, but even more than that, there are a lot of moving parts.

Andy Dalton is still the Inspire Pro Champion thanks to his ability to gently kick a referee in the stomach and get disqualified at ECSTACY OF GOLD II. Otherwise, we’d be looking at Matthew Palmer wearing the strap once again (or for the first time, as he didn’t have it long enough to wear the first time). So, Palmer definitely deserves another shot at the title.

But he’s not the only one, as Ray Rowe, having recovered from his motorcycle, accident, returned last month to save Palmer and Franco D’Angelo from a beatdown. If you’ll recall, Rowe won a Number One Contendership match against Palmer at CLASH AT THE BASH, but was unable to cash in on that opportunity. One thing led to another and Dalton ended up with the gold. So, Rowe, too, deserves the Championship match he never got.

And their other partner, Franco D’Angelo, has an unsuccessful title challenge on his record, having failed to defeat Mike Dell at LIGHT THE FUSE in Dell’s first defense. But “the Bionic Beast” stated last month that he wanted gold and no one was going to stand in his way of obtaining some, not even his friend Palmer. So, while perhaps he hasn’t earned a title shot yet, he has put his hat in the ring.

That doesn’t even factor in that either Takaaki Watanabe or ACH will be the new number one contender following this show, so that gives you four guys taking aim at Dalton’s Championship, and I, for one, LOVE IT. The more people shooting for the title the more important it feels. When Mike Dell held it, there didn’t seem to be much going on around it, not after he dispatched Franco, no other title match had any real meat behind it. The Rowe match would have, but it never happened. So, now, with Dalton as the Champ, and the fact that EVERYONE hates him and wants to see him lose it, it’s great to have so many people lining up to do the honors.

It just makes things more exciting. Now, for Dalton’s partners, he has Davey Vega and Tim Storm. I’m sure they will try every underhanded tactic to help the team win, but otherwise they don’t have any stories going on. Perhaps, D’Angelo will get a NWA NA Championship match out of this match? He wants gold, and there are just too many people ahead of him in the Inspire Pro Championship line, so he could potentially do that (I suppose that’s up to the NWA brass, though). As for Vega, not sure how frequently he’s going to be coming to Inspire Pro, but I’d love for him to be at every show. As it is, not much going on for him storyline-wise. Although setting up a one-on-one match with Palmer at the next show would be pretty choice, even though I’m sure they’ve battled many times before. But you can never go wrong with two of the best on the indies going head-to-head!

Whatever happens in this match will surely have impact on the Inspire Pro Championship scene, as I do expect the team of Palmer, Rowe, and D’Angelo to pick up the win. Now, whether that will be a direct pinfall on Dalton or not, who knows? I lean towards not having him eat the fall, since he’s already been defeated once as Champion (to Icarus at BATTLE WARS), and the less that that happens, the better. I could see Franco pinning Storm to set up a match, although the most likely scenario is Vega taking the loss for his team. No matter what, though, it’s going to be an excellent capper to the night.

At the end of the night, Andy Dalton will be leaving with the Inspire Pro Championship, and we’ll also know who the next challenger for that title will be. New Japan rookie, Takaaki Watanabe, goes on-on-one with the supremely talented, ACH. Everyone knows ACH, he’s been on the Texas scene for years and now competes regularly all over the country (mostly with Ring of Honor). You know he’s the real deal, I know he’s the real deal, and ACH himself knows he’s the real deal. This is going to be a great contest, without a doubt. My only issues with the matchup (and they are very minor issues), is that we will be naming a number one contender that is essentially a guest star. Someone who isn’t with Inspire Pro with any regularity.

That said, ACH was on the very first show, THE BEGINNING, losing to Chuck Taylor and Davey Vega in an Inspire Pro Championship Qualifying Match, and returned several more times to take on Sammy Guevara in a PHENOMENAL match at LIGHT THE FUSE (it’s on YouTube for FREE!), then he teamed with Jojo Bravo against Andy Dalton and Jordan Jensen at CLASH AT THE BASH (which was a HUGE surprise and nearly blew the roof off the building), and then again teaming with Bravo at BATTLE WARS against The Colony (Silver Ant and Fire Ant) to close out that amazing card (BUYITNOW!).

Watanabe, himself, has also appeared on a few shows, most notably getting a win over Andy Dalton at NO ROOM TO DIE (along with a loss to Gregory James at ECSTACY OF GOLD I). So, they aren’t regular in the strictest sense, but they have been on multiple shows, and that’s good enough for me. The victory on Dalton is reason enough for Watanabe to get this opportunity, and I think he will make the most of it.

Yes, I am picking Watanabe to get the win and become the Number One Contender. I just feel there’s more drama in a rematch between him and Dalton, rather than against ACH. I could even see Inspire Pro putting their Championship on Watanabe, but I don’t think it will get that far. Not when there’s so many meaty stories involving other talent, and Dalton really needs to hold that belt for awhile.

Speaking of someone who held their title for awhile, Barbi Hayden was the NWA World Women’s Championship for 378 days. WAS being the operative word. See, this past weekend, Hayden went into Florida and defended her gold against Santana Garrett. But, as everyone knows, Florida sucks and shitty things happen there, so Hayden ended up losing. (You can see that here.) So, that means her match with the returning Leva Bates will be a simple matchup against two incredibly talented women.

(I am going on the assumption that the match will remain the same and not that Santana Garrett will replace Hayden, keeping it a title match.)

It sucks, as UNDENIABLE is being billed as the latest XX Division show, and there are four wonderful XX matches booked (and four men’s matches, or XY Division matches, as I call them), but it’s missing a little extra oomph that a NWA Women’s title defense would have brought, especially given the story that was being told with Hayden. Her last two defenses (versus Athena at RELENTLESS and Veda Scott at ECSTACY OF GOLD II), the finishes have been a little on the sketchy side, but that’s all out the window now. Sure, they could continue the trend, but without the belt on the line, it’s rather pointless. So, that’s a big bummer, but it will still be an excellent matchup.

I know the NWA makes these decisions, but it felt as though Inspire Pro was the home of the Women’s title, you know? There were beginning to tell a story with it, and it would mean something when Hayden finally lost it instead of just here’s a match we booked and now she loses. Oh well, nothing can be done for it now. All that really does is bring the XX Division Championship back into focus.

Yup, as we discovered on the Inspire Pro Hotline (512-270-WRES), Inspire Pro Wrestling and Veda Scott have come to terms on her injunction with the XX Division Championship Tournament, which means they will be able to forge ahead with crowning their first Champion.

I think this is what they settled on as compensation:

I was screwed by @InspireProWres& all I got was this admittedly comfortable high quality t shirt pic.twitter.com/93n2Hm4BtW
— Veda Scott (@itsvedatime) February 11, 2015

You can buy those awesome shirts at the show or here. DO IT! Support women’s wrestling from a company that does it right!

Back to what I was talking about, the XX Division Championship Tournament: Athena and Jessica James are already in the finals, and joining them will be one of the following: Delilah Doom, Angelus Layne, or Paige Turner as they compete in a Triple Threat Match.

It’s funny because it was actually Angelus Layne’s absence from her match with Athena and Veda Scott (thanks to a double wrist injury) that led to Inspire Pro having to put the tournament on hold. But she is back now, set to make her debut against a member of The New Movement, Doom, who has been a fixture with Inspire Pro, and someone who was the very first member of the XX Division, Paige Turner, whom we have not seen in quite some time. I don’t know who will make it through, but they will have a tough go of it trying to defeat either James or Athena whenever the Championship match takes place (hopefully at the next show!).

Speaking of those two ladies, they each have their own matches, both against women making their Inspire Pro debuts. Athena will be taking on Nicole Savoy, while James does battle with “The Mountain” Vanessa Kraven. Athena-Savoy should be an athletic bout, as well as hard-hitting (Athena does not pull many punches, and does not back down from a fight), while James-Kraven will be a very interesting clash of styles. James is smaller and quicker, while Kraven is just a beast. She will rip her head off. Honestly, I just hope she doesn’t crush James’ skull like The Mountain did to the Red Viper on Games of Thrones (FUCK SPOILERS!). Both are already in the Finals, so you would think they’d want to remain strong and grab the victories, but I could see these matches going either way.

The only other Championship match scheduled, sees Steve’o Reno making his first defense of the J*Crown Championship that he won last month by surviving the entirety of the gauntlet for the crown. His opponent will be none other than former Chikara Young Lions Cup Champion and Campeon de Parejas, Mr. Touchdown! That’s right, another Chikara star to join Dasher Hatfield, Icarus, and The Colony as having competed on an Inspire Pro show.

Speaking of Hatfield, when he made the journey to Texas for BATTLE WARS, he fought Reno (along with Tadasuke) in what was probably the best opening match of any show (Inspire Pro or otherwise) in 2014. Seriously, check that shit out. In the end, Reno got the W over Hatfield, and now his tag team partner, Mr. Touchdown, is, well, not seeking revenge, but taking up the challenge. And it should be an incredible match.

Reno has been on straight FIRE for months and, while I don’t think that changes here, it will be a hard fought battle and could potentially steal the show (really, a lot of matches on this should has that distinction). What I really hope, after getting these huge opportunity to faces big names on the indy circuit, that more eyes get a chance to watch Reno and, hopefully, potentially, book him in other places. He would be perfect for Chikara, that’s for sure. That was one thing, when I saw the National Pro Wrestling Day card, I was hoping they could get some Inspire Pro guys on there, since they do seem to have a bit of a working relationship going. Hopefully one day.

That is, of course, if he can manage to take care of a little problem. That problem being the Hollywood Strangler, who attacked Reno last month and choked him out. Hopefully, he doesn’t poke his nose into the match itself and saves whatever he’s doing for post-match, which I’m sure he will. One thing I will praise Inspire Pro for (among the millions of other things I praise them for), they don’t have a whole lot of shenanigans. Only a handful of times have matches being completely ruined by outside interference, so I doubt that changes here. We can’t deprive these fans of this awesome contest!

When I said earlier that they are opening doors sooner and that you want to be there before the show starts? Well, I couldn’t be more serious about that statement, because Reno vs. Touchdown will be the opening bout. If there’s one thing Inspire Pro does well (again, there are SO many things they do well), it’s opening matches. A large amount of their “curtain jerkers” are better than most companies’ main events. DO NOT BE LATE!

Rounding out the show are two other matches, one that isn’t for a Championship but will featuring someone with a title. That being Mr. B, who ran off with Thomas Shire’s Pure Prestige Championship after failing to win it last month. But he’s got it for the time being, and will be taking on Jojo Bravo. Bravo was a hot property when Inspire Pro starting and that hasn’t really diminished, it’s just that following his story ending with Jordan Jensen, he hasn’t found himself in another one. He did, after all, headline BATTLE WARS with ACH against The Colony. And while he failed to capture the J*Crown last month, he’s not out of the hunt for gold yet. And, sure, while Mr. B isn’t technically the Pure Prestige Championship, if Bravo could pick up a win over him, well, that could put him in line for a chance. The bigger question is, while Shire make his presence known and attempt to get his title back?

The final match will see Barrett Brown, who returned last month as the newest member of The World Class Syndicate, taking on a Mystery Opponent. It was a match that the Mystery Person asked for, so who could it be? Brown hasn’t had a whole lot of issues in Inspire Pro (the main one was Sammy Guevara, but we all know it’s HIGHLY unlikely to be him), and he’s only just returned, so who wanted a match with Brown, but did not want to reveal his identity?

It’s a clever move, as Brown will have no way to prepare for the match, putting him at a great disadvantage. It would seem that it would be someone who has a history with Brown (maybe not with Inspire Pro, but perhaps elsewhere). It could even be Alex Reigns, a former member of the WCS. Maybe he’s upset that he wasn’t asked to return as a member of the team and is going to take it out on Brown? Really, the possibilities are endless. I just really hope it’s someone new, like new to the Austin wrestling scene in general, but I won’t be upset if it’s someone we’ve seen a million times (well, within reason).

The only other big news for the show is that Lance Hoyt may make an appearance. Sure, he’s been tearing it up in Japan recently (having just captured the GHC Tag Team Championship with Davey Boy Smith Jr. in NOAH), but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten a certain someone by the name of Brandon Stroud. And according to the Hotline (again, that’s 512-270-WRES), Stroud may or may not have been meeting with people who could potentially help out with his Hoyt problem. For his sake, I hope it’s true, ‘cause one of these days, Stroud is likely to die in the ring and that would be a sad day. Let’s just hope Hoyt hasn’t listened to the Hotline (or read this) and decided to bring his own backup, because then things could get a tad messy. And by messy, I mean Stroud’s innards covering the ring.

So, how does that sound for a show? Pretty awesome, right? You know it is. It’s a scary thought to think that it’s only February and Inspire Pro could already have two shows to be considered for Show of the Year on any number of year-end awards. They have certainly hit a stride that’s damn near impossible to match, and if they keep it going? Goodness.

So, Sunday, February 15, get your asses to Austin and the Marchesa Theater by 5:15 (you don’t wanna miss the opening match) because this is a show you will be kicking yourself for missing if there was anyway at all you could have attended! GO! Just do it, it’ll be totally worth it. Buy a plane ticket, because, like I said, there are other cool things happening this weekend, too! It’ll be the greatest Valentine’s Day of your or anyone else’s life!

Zayn already bumps and flies like a Smash Bros. character... Photo Credit: WWE.com

It's Twitter Request Line time, everyone! I take to Twitter to get questions about issues in wrestling, past and present, and answer them on here because 140 characters can't restrain me, fool! If you don't know already, follow me @tholzerman, and wait for the call on Wednesday to ask your questions. Hash-tag your questions #TweetBag, and look for the bag to drop Thursday afternoon (most of the time). Without further ado, here are your questions and my answers!

@tholzerman Which wrestlers would make the best Smash Bros. characters?
— MDT (@mdetura) February 11, 2015

After his display ragdolling around the ring for best frenemie Kevin Owens last night, Sami Zayn is the first obvious answer. While nothing about his offense screams Smash Bros., the way he bumps is straight out of the game's physics engine. Triple H is another candidate because he's already got the hammer, and seeing him go berserk with it, Donkey Kong-style, would amuse me. Chuck Taylor and his hand grenade would fit in super-well, although his ongoing feud with children may not make him the best candidate for a kids' game. Finally, Leva Bates, or Blue Pants to y'all who only know her from her NXT jobber stints, would make the perfect Kirby-type candidate with all her wardrobe changes and assumed power absorbing from said costume deviations.

.@tholzerman If you could create a formalized selection process/structure for the WWE or TNA HOF, what would it look like? #TweetBag
— Skinny Testaverde (@over_as_hell) February 11, 2015

I wouldn't need to create one from scratch, because Vince McMahon and Dave Meltzer already have the best options. McMahon's hall is a sham, but it's a transparent sham. He picks whom he wants to go in for whatever reason, and he has no pretense about it. Meltzer's methodology is similar to the way "real" sports select their halls, but instead of journalists, he has newsletter subscribers vote, which is a way better voting pool. Peter King or Bill Plaschke have highfalutin agendas and an inflated sense of ego with no real desire for discussion past what gets them paid on national television. While the average WON subscriber/forum member may have an inflated sense of ego (I'm not entirely sure, I only know a few of them), the selection process comes with real, actual debate that is meaningful and germane. It's also debate that Meltzer himself participates in. I'm not into fixing what's not broke, and both McMahon and Meltzer have the right ideas with their halls.

@tholzerman Ideally, where is Fandango in six months? Realistically, where is Fandango in six months?
— cool vampire moth (@auxili8rix) February 11, 2015

Ideally, he's not Fandango anymore and is part of a newly revamped Authority hit squad that includes Sheamus and is led by Seth Rollins. Johnny Curtis is a total Triple H guy, and WWE dropped the ball by  not having him replace Batista in Evolution. (Yes, I am still bitter about The Shield breaking up.) It's clear the Fandango gimmick has no legs, and Curtis can do more than job hilariously to Roman Reigns and suggestively dance with a Diva du jour.

Realistically? Say hello to your EVOLVE 48 main event, Dirty Johnny Curtis vs. Chris Hero!

@tholzerman Which wrestling trope needs a year of being banned more, the evil authority figure or the overlarge invading heel group?
— Stomp Hammerboot (@thedesertpope) February 11, 2015

NJPW fans may be sick to death of the Bullet Club; I'm only a newbie New Japan fan, and I already am tired of the whole thing. However, I will take five more years of Bullet Club overkill if I can get every wrestling promotion in the world to eliminate the fucking evil authority figure character tomorrow. Real talk, that trope has done more to kill legitimate heel heat in most wrestling companies than t-shirt sales or cool heels or anything else people want to blame it on. Evil GMs/commissioners/matchmakers/poobahs/whatever are the only ones who can get over, and most of them can't deliver a meaningful payoff in the ring to end any effective angles. Bring me back the mostly silent authority figure. Bring me back Jack Tunney.

@tholzerman Will VKM have to be deposed before women get the same respect on Raw afforded on NXT? Are the crowds or USA complicit?#TweetBag
— Star of Savage (@StarOfSavage) February 12, 2015

I don't think crowds or the network are as complicit as one might think they are. Crowds are easily swayed, and if a promotion presented women in the ring as worthy competitors, crowds will react. I've been among several larger indie crowds that went bonkers for women getting over on men. Sara del Rey defeating Claudio Castagnoli generated maybe the biggest pop at any ECW Arena show I've ever been to. Even if WWE never puts on an intergender match, I see no reason why a match between Charlotte and Paige can't headline RAW or even a pay-per-view to vociferous fanfare. In the same vein, if it sells, I doubt USA Network will object to it.

The stumbling blocks have to be McMahon and his coterie, especially Kevin Dunn, who is reputed to be the grossest, most sexist motherfucker in existence. Watching how much care with which the NXT women's division is treated shows that the disrespect isn't pervasive in the entire company. The question is, how long does McMahon have left? I fear that answer won't be liked.

@tholzerman when you're marketing department came up with #tweetbag did you fire them?
— WiffleBall1 (@WiffleBall1) February 12, 2015

My marketing department is my three-year old son, so I can't in good conscience fire him. C'mon man.

@tholzerman Can The New Day be salvaged by anything but them turning heel and being the Nation they didn't want to be?
— bd (@IHatebd) February 12, 2015

Honestly, I don't see any other satisfying endgame other than turning them heel and rebelling against the management, which should be a total face move, but this is WWE in question here. How can anyone put three black dudes in a "happy fun time" gimmick in 2015 and not expect backlash? America's still got a lot of racism within it, but the climate is getting wiser, or at the very least the backlash against the racism is getting louder. The only way to fix this problem without turning them heel is to go back in time and not form the stable at all. But that's impossible right now.

@tholzerman considering there's probably a limit to how good his English can get, what do you think is Itami's ceiling?
— Mike (@85mf) February 12, 2015

Itami's greater success depends on how long it takes Triple H to ascend to power within WWE. Under McMahon, WWE has had a pretty terrible record pushing Japanese superstars, and especially now that Papa Bear has seemingly retreated into his most insular, reactionary booking practices, I have little hope for Itami once he leaves the womb. But in an idealized WWE where Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are the movers and shakers creatively, Itami can possibly make it all the way to the main event. I don't think he needs lucid grasp of the English language to get far in WWE, especially if the fans take to him. He's got a hard-hitting, fan-friendly style in the ring, and for as little English as he speaks, his body language and facial expressions help get across his narratives between the bells.

@tholzerman Say you're a guy who regrets not knowing who CM punk was before WWE or who Tyler black was or Bryan Danielson or Jon Moxley
— Liker of beer (@gvntofly1021) January 29, 2015

@tholzerman and wishes he had seen them all doing their thing in the Indies, what should that person be watching right now?
— Liker of beer (@gvntofly1021) January 29, 2015

Whether or not you're looking for the next indie guy to come up or want to look back upon the histories of at least Cesaro, Punk, Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Solomon Crowe, and Seth Rollins, you gotta go with Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. The company will have been around for 12 years this summer, and has pretty much housed every major independent star in that time with the exceptions of Dean Ambrose/Jon Moxley and a bunch of women (because women are apparently icky to Super Dragon, *shrug*). My suggestion is to get the PWG Sells Out DVD compilations if you want a good idea of what the company is all about. Even now, it still puts out some of the best indie supercards one will find, so I suggest getting anything it's produced in the last couple of years for a more modern snapshot.

@tholzerman Can Kevin Owens be the new and improved CM Punk? #TweetBag
— Brian Charlie Brown (@brianbrown25) February 12, 2015

I don't see "Punk" when I look at Owens. Punk's best oeuvre as a babyface was as the Voice of the Voiceless, and as a heel, he was a smarmy, moralistic dickbag who preached being better than everyone. Owens comes off more a guy with the Joker's capacity for trolling people, but instead of acting manic and peacocky (which is more Finn Bálor's domain), he's dispassionate and cool. I can't see him caring about anyone but himself and his interests, which will be an interesting case study going forward in WWE, especially if the fans turn him face like they've done with every multi-talented indie guy who's come up through the ranks from Punk through Cesaro. Owens and his foil Zayn have the potential to be the two biggest guys WWE has had since Steve Austin if the cards are played right, but at the same time, Owens especially is not an easy card to play, at least not as easy a card as Punk was in his heyday.

@tholzerman With Crowe "finally" about to debut, where does he fit into one of the most talented rosters a WWE brand has had in a decade+?
— Brian Coulter (@PhilaBCoulter) February 12, 2015

On one hand, it's hard to imagine a guy as talented and charismatic as the former Sami Callihan having trouble fitting into any roster. On the other, Rival took place last night, was a stacked card, and the Vaudevillains, Enzo Amore, Big Cass, Tyson Kidd, Emma, and Marcus Louis were nowhere to be seen. With only two hours to fill during Takeover events and one during the weekly show, it can be hard for even the most talented wrestlers to get more than a shoutout. His debut could not have been timed worse.

BUT, some of the wrestlers that were featured last night will be moving up to the main roster sooner rather than later. Some of those wrestlers, like Bull Dempsey, will probably fade into obscurity. Crowe will get his shot, and if he goes as hard as he did in the indies, he won't look back when he gets the ball.

@tholzerman is the Sin Cara mask, like the IC title, an actual cursed item at this point?
— Mike Chauvet (@mikechauvet) February 12, 2015

For awhile, Hunico was actually doing well under the mask, actually, but then Rival happened and he was so sloppy that he transmitted some of it to both his partner and his opponents. The mask isn't cursed so that every time its put on it does something bad, but it tends to strike at the most inopportune times. Maybe WWE just needs to retire the character and the name and find something else for Hunico, who's actually not bad, to do on the roster, other than sit around and collect dust like 1/3 of the main roster that sits by and watches the same fucking matches unfold on RAW each week.

@tholzerman EARLY BUT WHO WINS TRIPLE H/STING?
— CAPS LOCKA FLAME (@matt_T) February 12, 2015

The most WWE thing in the world would be Sting jobbing his first match in the company to Triple fuckin' H, as one last fuck you to the legacy of WCW. That being said, Trips has done the right thing with respects to Daniel Bryan and The Shield in the last year. I doubt he'd be the one to fuck up Sting's debut. Trips will get a win down the line, for sure, but at WrestleMania? Sting's winning all the way.

@tholzerman You can make one major change to improve WWE, NXT, NJPW, Lucha Underground and CHIKARA. $ no object. GO!
— Josh Browns (@JB_Shakes) February 12, 2015

WWE - Fire JBL into the Sun, give Jerry Lawler a nice retirement package. Take Vince McMahon out of the commentators' ears and put whoever is doing the thing in NXT there. Michael Cole and Renee Young call RAW. Tom Phillips, Booker T, and someone new call Smackdown.

NXT - If money's no object, then I'm putting the Performance Center on a helicarrier and allowing NXT to take its entire operation on the road.

NJPW - How the fuck can the #2 promotion in the world have ZERO women performers, especially when the joshi have done more to inform modern puro than anything else out there? Get some women on the fucking roster, whether in their own division, or integrated into the main narrative. Kana vs. Kazuchika Okada needs to happen.

Lucha Underground - Again, if money's no object, I am taking the cash gun and firing it at every major cable provider until all of them carry El Rey, and then as a rider, LU can not, I repeat, NEVER hire Vince Russo as long as it wants to remain on said network.

Chikara - HD cameras. A whole legion of them, and dedicated, professional camera operators to work them. I'm not hearing good things about the company's new filming set up, and if any pro wrestling company needs to be seen with the best possible footage, it's Chikara.

@tholzerman#tweetbag how many nxt ppl on the main roster by year's end?
— Marty G (@ThisPhillyFan) February 12, 2015

Honestly, I don't know if many of them will get the call. Adrian Neville and Charlotte seem to be locks to head to the main roster. The Zayn/Owens feud might keep them in NXT until December (which would be fine by me). Bálor seems to be on the fast track given how quickly it's taken him to acclimate to WWE, and Kalisto might end up being shunted to the main roster to get him far, far away from Sin Cara as possible, especially after last night. So conservatively, I'd say four wrestlers (Neville, Charlotte, Kalisto, Bálor), and liberally, I'd go with those guys plus Enzo Amore and Big Cass, possibly Zayn, possibly Hideo Itami, and perhaps Sasha Banks and/or Bayley.

Ready for more Rollins chat? Because Cheap Heat has it this week Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Cheap Heat
Episode: Feb. 11, 2015
Run Time: 44:00
Guest: None

Summary: David Shoemaker is in studio with a weary Peter Rosenberg, who is back from Los Angeles for the Grammy Awards and an in-person podcast session with Steve Austin. After briefly giving the reactions they expect to have to the NXT supershow, the guys give drive-by thoughts to RAW, including the Seth Rollins scandal, the Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns arc and Rikishi’s Hall of Fame credentials. Then they answer listener questions, which prompts talk about live event memories and Toji Yamamoto. Rosenberg ends with quick reflections on the Austin experience.

Quote of the week: Rosenberg: “I figured out something about Austin. … I love Hulk Hogan, and I love Steve Austin, right? But I realized this when I was talking about how excited I was, the night before… I said the reason I’m more excited about doing Austin’s podcast is Hulk Hogan is always working. Steve Austin is never working. Yet they both were amazing at what they did, but one’s always working, and Austin never had to do anything. I thought that was more profound than you’re giving me credit for.”

Why you should listen: It’s short, that’s a plus. The Yamamoto story is pretty legendary, and well told by Shoemaker. Aside from Colt Cabana’s brief reflections, I don’t recall hearing another guest of Austin’s podcast dish about the experience, and given Rosenberg’s expertise, it’s definitely worth hearing his take, though I actually would have liked a bit more. Also, if you’re not going to listen to Rosenberg on Austin’s show, the live event conversation here won’t be redundant.

Why you should skip it: If you’re consciously avoiding Rollins picture leak discussion, take a big fat pass on this episode. Cheap Heat is always weakened in weeks where Rosenberg hasn’t seen the shows in full, as is the case here. An NXT preview would have been far superior to what actually made the air. The Rikishi discussion lacked the contextual appreciation of his entire career, which is Shoemaker’s job to deliver. And with this being recorded between the release of Rosenberg’s Austin show appearances, Shoemaker was tied trying to ask questions about an interview he’d only heard in part.

Final thoughts: The new release time of Cheap Heat puts the guys in a no-win situation regarding NXT. Most fans wouldn’t hear a preview until after the wrestling event, but by next week it may be too late for a proper recap. Likewise, Shoemaker is recording with knowledge of Thursday Smackdown spoilers and an aversion to discussing those events. My biggest knock on Cheap Heat continues to be that it’s not quite sure what show it wants to be. There are moments of brilliance nearly every week, but no rhyme or reason to when, where, why or how they might surface.